Dublin 6 office investments for €5.6m

Two period buildings, tastefully refurbished and converted into office use in the early 2000s at Mount Saint Anne’s in Milltown, Dublin 6, are to be offered for sale as investments by CBRE.

Colm Luddy of the agency is guiding €3.4 million for the chapel building which has 1,096sq m (11,806sq ft) of air- conditioned offices over three floors. He is guiding €2.2 million for Milltown House, which was also transformed into high-quality offices and is now let on a long-term basis.

Mount Saint Anne’s was originally a mother house and a working farm for an order of nuns, as well as accommodating a primary and secondary school.

It was redeveloped in stages from the late 1990s into one of the most sought-after residential estates in south Dublin.

Michael Cotter's Park Developments built 480 apartments and 170 family homes and duplexes to target all sectors of the market and also restored and reused the existing convent buildings. The centrepiece of the development is a two hectare/4.5 acre park with different zones of activity and featuring mature trees.

CBRE is marketing the two investment properties as “trophy assets” which are likely to appeal to private investors or some of the small funds.

These building are near the entrance to the Mount Saint Anne’s development, which is serviced by buses as well as the Luas green line on the western boundary of the site.

Chapel building

The restoration work on the 1880s chapel was overseen by leading architects O’Mahony Pike (OMP) who are one of the tenants. They share the accommodation with Comsys and Rojo Management Consultants. One of the leases runs for 4 years and 10 months and the other for 10 years beginning in 2013.

The overall rent roll of €196,292 has significant potential for growth, according to CBRE, who predict that prime rents in the city centre will shortly hit €484 per sq m (€45 per sq ft). At a valuation of €3.4 million, the chapel would show an initial return of 5.5 per cent.

Visitors will undoubtedly be impressed by the way in which OMP has retained the integrity and visual appearance of the chapel while at the same time providing modern, energy-efficient and adaptable office accommodation. All the decorative features were retained in the conversion. A free-standing steel structure was inserted into the open body of the church to create three floors of offices including a floor located under the vaulted panelled roof space.

Convent building

Milltown House is an impressive four-storey building dating from 1760. With a floor area of 660sq m (7,114sq ft), it has been tastefully restored and retains many of its original features including plasterwork and staircases.

It is currently producing a rent of €155,000 under a 25-year lease with more than 17 years remaining without any break options.

The next five yearly upwards only rent review is due in June 2017.

The chapel has been allocated 14 spaces, while Milltown House comes with 10 parking spots.