Galway firm hired as contractor for Dublin 4 residential scheme

Irish property group Chartered Land has appointed Galway-based JJ Rhatigan & Company as the main contractor for its high-end residential scheme on the site of the former Berkeley Court hotel in Ballsbridge.

The appointment followed a competitive tendering process for the multimillion-euro project. Site preparation works are currently under way, with initial construction work on the basement car park due to begin in September.

Pavilion-style development

Chartered Land, which is controlled by founder and executive chairman Joe O’Reilly, plans to build about 200 exclusive apartments in a pavilion-style development on Lansdowne Road.

The apartments are expected to come to market in the spring of 2017 with more than 500 jobs to be created during the construction phase.

The mature boundary trees and iron railings along Lansdowne Road, which date back to the mid-1800s, are being retained as part of the scheme.

The site was the Trinity College botanical garden from 1806 until the 1960s when the Jurys (now the Ballsbridge Hotel) and the Berkeley Court hotels were developed.

Planning modifications

Chartered Land is developing the site in accordance with the 10-year master planning permission granted in 2011. A number of recent planning modifications have been made to make the development more efficient but the overall height and mass of the scheme as originally granted remains intact.

Commenting on the appointment, Chartered Land’s chief executive Andrew Gunne said: “We look forward to working with JJ Rhatigan & Company in delivering a residential development to an international premium standard that befits this unique Ballsbridge site.”

Founded in 1999, Chartered Land is one of the largest property development and investment companies in Ireland.

The company, which has exited the National Asset Management Agency, has developed close to two million square feet of space. Its developments include the Dundrum Town Centre, the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and Grand Canal Square office scheme in Dublin’s docklands, the Swords Pavilions retail centre, and a mixed-use retail led development on South King Street in central Dublin.

Other projects include the completion and repositioning of Elm Park campus on 17.3 acres in Dublin 4 in partnership with Starwood Capital Group.

Established in 1952, JJ Rhatigan is a leading Irish building contractor, with offices in Dublin, London, Galway, Sligo and Cork.

Its projects include Heuston South Quarter in Dublin, NUI Galway's IT building, phase two of the Crumlin hospital redevelopment, the Radisson SAS hotel on Golden Lane in central Dublin, the Athlone Town Centre and, in Galway, the Bon Secours expansion.

The contractor has also worked on a number of recent residential developments in Dublin, including the Grange, Wyckham Point in Dundrum, and St Edmunds near Liffey Valley in the west of the city.

Project Trinity

Known as Project Trinity, the overall 6.8-acre site in Ballsbridge has planning permission for 490 apartments, 152-bedroom hotel, retail, a cafe, bar and restaurant.

The first phase involved the demolition of the Berkeley Court, with development of the Ballsbridge Hotel to come at a later date.

The site was originally acquired by Carlow developer Seán Dunne for about €400 million at the height of the property boom.

Chartered Land partnered with the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund to acquire the site from Ulster Bank last year.