In Short

Other commercial property stories in brief

Key money of around €400,000 on Henry Street

Mobile network chain 3 Ireland is understood to have paid key money of around €400,000 for the lease of the Birthdays store on Henry Street. The new tenant is to use it as its flagship store in Dublin and plans to open a further 27 outlets around the country in the next 15 months. The company has also been selling its products through Xtra-Vision, The Carphone Warehouse and 3G shops. Mobile network firms are among the most active players on the high streets and shopping centres, as they compete for a share of the lucrative mobile phone market.

The four-storey Henry Street building extends to 265sq m (2,852sq ft) and is held on a 25-year lease from 1990 at a rent of €315,000 a year. Claire Quinn of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald, who advised Birthdays, said the opening of Zara, H&M, Gap and Swarovski has greatly strengthened the appeal of Henry Street. Fergus Slattery & Associates acted for 3 Ireland.

€8 million for Cork office

A well located office block with permission to extend at Cork Business and Technology Park on the Model Farm Road is on the market through Hamilton Osborne King for €8 million. The building with 2,509.5sq m (27,012sq ft) of space is on a site of 2.57 acres. It has raised access floors, air conditioning and a large foyer and atrium. A 10-year permission allows an extension of 3,444sq m (37,071sq ft) on the western side of the building. Denis O'Donoghue of HOK says there is a scarcity of buildings of this size and quality. There are 178 car-parking spaces on site and the building is close to UCC and CIT.

Shannon business park letting

Westpark, Shannon's new business park, has got a major shot in the arm with the announcement that Digital River Inc, a leader in e-commerce outsourcing, is to be one of the anchor tenants. It is expected to create 350 jobs over the next five years.

The announcement of the first major letting comes as ESB Telecoms is to connect the park to its national fibre optic network and onwards to the multiple international tier one telecommunications network.

Westpark is in negotiations with a number of tier one and two carriers to offer a choice of ICT options. Westpark is aiming at developing up to 92,903sq m (1 million sq ft) of business space by 2012.

Farm makes €93,750 per acre

A 16-acre farm in Co Meath has sold for the equivalent of €93,750 per acre. Coonan Real Estate Alliance secured €1.3 million at auction for the land at Kilcloon, about four miles from Maynooth.

€2m for Tallaght showrooms

CB Richard Ellis is guiding €2 million for a retail showrooms fronting the N81 bypass in Tallaght, Dublin 24. The former Tallaght Ford centre has a floor area of 218sq m (2,347sq ft) and is held under a 99-year lease by Fort Motors which is relocating to larger premises.

Also on offer by way of a lease assignment is an adjoining unit of 93sq m (1,001sq ft) which is rented at €20,000 per annum. There is on-site car-parking for up to 40 cars. David Fahey of CBRE says the property could be used for a variety of retail uses next to The Square.

Galway hotel wins design award

The g hotel in Galway has won the "best hotel design for spa, health and leisure interiors" at this year's European Hotel Design Awards in London. Douglas Wallace architects and ESPA International handled the design of the five-star hotel.

Rathgar site makes over €5m

An infill site of 0.43 of an acre at Garville Drive, Rathgar, Dublin 6, has been sold by Hamilton Osborne King for over €5 million. It is expected to accommodate about 10 townhouses or 15 apartments.

Separately, another developer has paid €1.75 million for a rundown retail building at 17 High Street, Dublin 8. It has planning permission for a four-storey over basement retail and office building with a floor area of 571sq m (6,146sq ft). Donal O Buachalla handled the sale.

West Dublin site makes €2.5m

A Dublin builder has paid €2.5 million for a redevelopment site of 0.43 of an acre at Lucan Bridge in west Dublin after it was withdrawn at a Lisney auction. There is a range of retail and commercial buildings on the site, some of them listed for preservation. A number of the buildings are leased and producing a rent of €18,000.

New Ross retail warehouse park

New Ross in Co Wexford is the latest town to get a retail warehousing park. The €20 million development by Considine Properties will have four buildings beside the Tesco supermarket. An electrical retailer and a furniture trader are currently fitting out and joint agents CB Richard Ellis and Purcell Properties are currently marketing four further retail units of between 804sq m (8,654sq ft) and 952sq m (10,247sq ft).

New Ross has grown rapidly in recent years and has a population of 31,600 living within 15 minutes drive.

Retailer to open new shops

Another Chinese herbal remedy retailer is rolling out new outlets around the country. Dr & Herbs has opened 12 shops in recent weeks, mainly in provincial shopping centres but also at Blanchardstown, The Square and The Swan centre. A shop is also to be opened on Dublin's Grafton Street and five further sites have been identified by agents Ganly Walters and Lisney.

Arnotts pays €670,000 rent

Department store Arnotts has leased a large warehouse at Furry Park in Santry, Dublin 9, at a rent of €670,000 per annum. The building extends to 6,080sq m (65,445sq ft) and the rent works out at €110 per sq m (€10.2 per sq ft).

Hamilton Osborne King, which handled the letting, has also secured €12.5 million for a warehouse of 7,432sq m (80,000sq ft) at Myglen Business Park in Finglas, Dublin 11. It was bought by Nightline Logistics.