Large office and retail space in Dundrum asking over €15m

Two high-rise office buildings and two levels of retail units in a third block at Rockfield Central in Dundrum, Dublin 14, go for sale today amid signs that the investment market is gearing up for another busy run of sales.

Joint agents Finnegan Menton and Cushman & Wakefield are seeking in excess of €15 million for the three investments, which are to be sold in one lot at a yield of 8.5 per cent after standard purchaser costs. The portfolio is 92 per cent occupied and is producing a rental income of €1,334,114.

The three buildings were built between 2001 and 2004 by Gannon Homes as part of a broader development opposite Dundrum Town Centre. The 14-acre Rockfield Central scheme on the Wyckham Bypass includes 388 apartments, 9,000sq m (96,864sq ft) of commercial buildings, the Balally Luas stop and a park and ride facility for 400 cars.

Another office building, which does not form part of the sale, is occupied by the VHI SwiftCare clinic. Not surprisingly, the overall scheme has proven an attractive location for a number of medical related businesses.

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Two of the three blocks going for sale, the eight-storey north block with a floor area of 3,600sq m (38,750sq ft) and the six-storey south block extending to 2,360 sq m (25,402 sq ft) were built directly over the Luas railway line and the Balally stop, which links into the Dundrum shopping centre. The two levels of shopping within the east block face directly on to the Luas plaza. There are also a number of retail traders on the ground floor of the two office blocks, which have an overall floor area of 6,775sq m (73,000 sq ft).

The main retail tenants are Mace, which pays a rent of €135,000, Brickyard bar, €110,000 and Rockfield pharmacy, €93,394. The highest rent of €268,568 in the office blocks is paid by Mott MacDonald for 1,472sq m (15,846sq ft). Centric Health, trading as Locumotion, contributes €173,737 for 1,002sq m (10,796sq ft), while Medical Account Services company Medserv, and Affidea Diagnostics, both pay over €113,000 each for between 686sq m (7,390sq ft) and 747sq m (8,040sq ft).

The office buildings were attractively designed by architects Conroy Crowe Kelly and include a vaulted design on the roofs and large balconies. There are superb views from the upper floors of Dublin mountains and the city centre. The flexible design of the floor plates has opened the way for multiple tenancies and allowed many firms to grow within the same office block.

The selling agents say there is scope for the next owners to increase the rent roll by leasing two vacant office floors and by increasing some of the existing rents of €15 to €18 per sq ft (€161 to €193 per sq m) to around €25 per sq ft (€269 per sq m).

The same is being handled by Nicholas Corson of Finnegan Menton and Patricia Ward of Cushman & Wakefield.