IN SHORT:A PLANNING application is to be lodged this week for a substantial commercial and residential development on the 7.9-acre Butterly Business Park at Kilmore Road in Artane, Dublin 5.
The scheme will also include a memorial garden to the 48 people who died in the Stardust nightclub fire on the site in 1981. The layout and composition of the garden will be carried out in consultation with relatives of the victims.
A 10-year permission is being sought for the scheme of 68,000sq m (731,945sq ft) which will include 178 homes, an 81-bed hotel, offices and retail facilities. Colm Butterly, the owner of the site, says the scheme will unlock the potential of the land and create employment in the area through a new social and business hub for Artane.
The project will have an investment value when fully let of some €250 million, says its promoter. Existing tenants which include Hydramasters, NTL Communications, Blue Cabs and Dolmen Insurance Brokers will be accommodated in the new buildings. All buildings on site will be demolished.
The planning application provides for 24,705sq m (265,922sq ft) of non-residential space, including 1,158sq m (12,465sq ft) of retail, 13,396sq m (144,193sq ft) of offices and employment generating units, a pharmacy, medical centre, crèche and a roof garden. There will be nine blocks ranging from two to six storeys and a basement car-park. The residential element will have mainly one, two and three-bedroom apartments, duplex units and 17 houses.
The architect is O’Mahony Pike and the town planning consultant is Stephen Little Associates.
UK most 'international' market
THE UK is still the world’s most international retail market, according to a study by CBRE. Attracting 59 per cent of all the top brands, the UK is closely followed by UAE where 54 per cent of the big-name traders are represented.
Reflecting the scarcity of international retail expansion in Ireland in the past 12 months, the country dropped three points in the rankings from 32 to 29 but Dublin moved up from 57th to 55th in the city rankings. Cormac Kennedy of CBRE says 25 per cent of international retailers surveyed have a presence in the Irish market. However, Ireland ranked in seventh place globally in terms of the number of mid-range fashion brands located here.
Suite let at 215 per sq m
A SELF-contained office suite in Molton House on Adelaide Road in Dublin 2 has been let to IT Force Ltd on a four-year and nine-month lease. It will pay €215 per sq m (€20 per sq ft). IT Force was previously based at the Digital Hub in Thomas Street. The letting was arranged by Aidan Hora who has set up his own agency, Hora Property Consultants. He previously worked with Finnegan Menton.
