75% of Smithfield's retail outlets sold for €30m

Urban Redevelopment: Paddy Kelly's family company Redquartz Capital, one of the partners in the Smithfield Market development, is in negotiations for an anchor store after buying 75 per cent of the development's retail facilities. Jack Fagan, Property Editor, reports

One of the partners in the Smithfield Market development in Dublin has acquired 75 per cent of the retail facilities less than a year before the massive mixed use scheme is due to be completed.

Redquartz Capital, controlled by Mr Paddy Kelly and his family, is thought to have paid in excess of €30 million for most of the 6,038 sq m (65,000 sq ft) of retail facilities which have already been targeted by a range of top traders.

The sale includes a stunning 929 sq m (10,000 sq ft) store, much of it double height to accommodate a mezzanine floor, if necessary.

Dunnes Stores had been in negotiations at one stage but, as it has a policy of buying all its stores, it may have been put off by the fact that this one is not for sale. Redquartz is now in negotiations with a blue chip trader for what will undoubtedly be a superb anchor store.

Much of the interest will also be focused on the contemporary leisure facilities of 2,787 sq m (30,000 sq ft) which will broaden the appeal of Smithfield Market. More than 7,000 sq m (75,000 sq ft) will be devoted to a mixture of eclectic restaurants, stylish bars and cultural innovations.

The mixed use development will also include a 100-bedroom hotel, two underground levels of public and private car-parking with more than 850 spaces and a mixture of retail that will service the development and the greater area - offering what the promoters describe as "an entire lifestyle on your doorstep, extended by the possibilities of the city and beyond".

Smithfield Market is by far the largest mixed use development under construction in Ireland. It is also the most significant rejuvenation project in the city. The completed scheme will be in excess of 92,903 sq m (one million sq ft) and will have a finished capital value of well over €500 million.

The entire scheme is due to be completed at the beginning of the summer of 2005. The central phase will be ready before next Christmas, the southern phase will be completed early in 2005 and the northern end will be wrapped up by early next summer.

Smithfield Market is being developed by Fuscano Properties which has as its principals Joe and Pat Linders, the Flynn family, Ed and Jill Brady and the Kelly family.

When completed, the scheme will have 500 new homes to accommodate about 1,500 residents. Half the homes were sold out quickly in two launches and the first 180 residents are due to move in by Christmas.

One-bedroom apartments with a floor area of at least 51 sq m (550 sq ft) start at €360,000, two-bedroom units of 69.6 sq m (750 sq ft) are priced from €445,000 and three-bedroom homes with 83.6 sq m (900 sq ft) fetched from €525,000. Floor sizes are larger than usual, there are complete stone and brick elevations overlooking one of Ireland's largest urban squares and residents will have the use of roof gardens. About 75 per cent of the purchasers also booked parking spaces at €40,000 per slot.

Fusano plans to retain ownership of 37 apartments in the tower block for short-term corporate letting.

The centrepiece of the development will be a 13-storey residential tower designed by Horan Keogan Ryan. Permission was originally sought for a 23-storey tower with panoramic views over the city. The promoters still have a strong desire to increase the height of the tower to mark Smithfield from a distance on the Dublin skyline.

Joint agents XX Maher O'Reilly and DTZ Sherry FitzGerald have begun marketing two new office buildings which are well advanced. The Exchange will have a floor area of 5,574 sq m (60,000 sq ft) while The Forge will have 2,043 sq m (22,000 sq ft).

Floor plates are available to let in sizes from 696.7 to 1,393 sq m (7,500 to 15,000 sq ft) at €376 per sq m (€35 per sq ft). Apart from the fact that the offices are a few minutes' walk from the Four Courts, there is also the attraction of a new Luas station beside the site.

The first major development in the area, Smithfield Village, based on the old Jameson Distillery site, promised to change the fortunes of Smithfield but in the end failed to do so. However, the much bigger Smithfield Market will deliver a more comprehensive development that is guaranteed to pump new life into the area. The recent sale of the Irish Distillers HQ next to Smithfield Village to developer John Byrne will also inevitably lead to a further phase of redevelopment that will copper fasten Smithfield as a vibrant new city quarter.