Audi showroom in Ballsbridge to be restored to office use

A high-profile office and showroom known as the Audi Centre, at 83 Pembroke Road, in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, will be restored to office use and offered for letting from next October.

Browne Corrigan Chartered Surveyors will be seeking a rent of €1 million for the three-storey premises opposite the former Jurys Hotel, which extends to 1,715sq m (18,456sq ft) and comes with at least 28 car parking spaces.

The agents say the “unique construction and appearance of the building, its imposing presence in Ballsbridge, its car parking and signage potential, should appeal to a broad range of brand-conscious occupiers seeking a distinctive prime Dublin presence”.

The unusual building designed by the late architect David Keane and completed in 1971 is characterised by a modular concrete frame over a glazed curtain wall elevation.

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The block was originally known as Texaco House, having been occupied by the oil company for many years and used on occasions to display art from its famous children’s art competition.

Architectual significance

More recently the block has been used as a flagship Dublin showroom for the German car brand Audi, which is now preparing to move to its new headquarters in Sandyford.

In 2013 An Bord Pleanála refused to allow the Dublin 4 building to be demolished, holding that it was of “particular architectural, technical and vernacular significance”.

The block was bought at the height of the property boom in 2003 for €10 million by developers Bernard McNamara and Gerry O'Reilly as part of a larger site assembly plan.

The crash brought that project to an end, and in 2010 the building was offered for sale on behalf of Ulster Bank. There was little interest at the time because of the recession and the difficulties of securing bank funding.

In due course the Audi Centre was sold for a mere €3.6 million. Within two years it had changed hands again, being bought for more than €7 million by a company within Jones Engineering.

Browne Corrigan said this week that the building was well-presented and ready for tenant occupation. “The top floor will require an upgrade.

A new tenant may wish to refit the property entirely to adapt to its own requirements. The concrete floor plates allow maximum flexibility in this regard.”