BoI to cash in on €35m office sell-off
BANK of Ireland looks set to cash in on the ongoing appetite of investors and developers for the Dublin office market with the sale of a prime property it owns in the city centre.
Agent Savills Ireland is guiding a price of €35m for the landmark premises of New Ireland Assurance at 9 -12 Dawson Street. Built between the late 1960s and early 1970s, the property is being sold with vacant possession and marketed as a development opportunity.
Savills Ireland director of development Mark Reynolds says the purchaser will be in a position to deliver an office and retail scheme significantly larger than the existing 4,461 sq m (48,018 sq ft) building occupied by New Ireland.
A feasibility study undertaken by Henry J Lyons Architects suggests there is substantial scope to redevelop and extend the building to accommodate up to 6,219 sq m (66,941 sq ft) of space – subject to the necessary grant of planning permission.
The Dawson Street area has undergone significant change over the past three years, with the development of several new office spaces by Green Reit and I put.
These developments, coupled with the arrival of the Luas Cross City line, have seen both Dawson Street and neighbouring Molesworth Street become the most sought-after location in Dublin’s central business district. Barclays Bank, AIB and Jet.com are just three of the major names who have decided to locate in the area.
Meanwhile, London’s famed Ivy restaurant is due to open for business at One Molesworth Street in the coming months, adding to Dawson Street’s bar and restaurant offerings, which include Fire, 37 Dawson Street, Cafe en Seine, and the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse.