InShort

200-bed hotel for Dublin 15: Green Property Ltd has secured planning permission to develop a 200-bed hotel at the Blanchardstown Town Centre in Dublin 15.

The rival Liffey Valley Shopping Centre has had a successful hotel for some time. Green's revised plans include a reduction in height of the hotel from 17 to nine storeys with the omission of a business centre, leisure/recreation facilities and retail units. Green was also forced to drop plans for a proposed 17-storey over ground floor aparthotel for a 15-storey apartment development with 112 two-bedroom units.

Jewellers applies to refurbish Grafton Street shop

Leading London jeweller Boodle & Dunthorpe has lodged a planning application to upgrade 71 Grafton Street, the former Suits You store at the corner with Harry Street. The new tenant will be paying a rent of over €520,000 - the equivalent of €8,000 per sq m.

DID Electrical to open outlets in Drogheda and Kilkenny

DID Electrical is embarking on a major expansion of its business with plans to open new outlets in Kilkenny and Drogheda. DID will join Woodies as anchor tenants in the first phase of the Kilkenny Retail Park where rents are averaging €215 per sq m (€20 per sq ft). Work has already commenced on the second phase of the 100-acre development which will have nine units ranging from 750-1,860sq m (8,073-20,021sq ft). There will also be a bowling alley and children's activity centre as well as a KFC drive-through food outlet and a Days Hotel. NAI Mason Owen Lyons is the letting agent.

In Drogheda, DID Electrical will open its new outlet in a local retail park before Christmas. Like Kilkenny, the park will have a Days Hotel.

Lidl gets green light for discount food store in Rathfarnham

Lidl has got permission from An Bord Pleanála for a discount food store at the junction of Grange Road and Stonemason's Way in Rathfarnham - formerly the Glaxo Smith-Kline site. The development will also include five retail units with a recreational/sports facility at first floor level.

Northern Cross unit on over two acres for €6.5m

Unit Four at the Northern Cross Business Park in Finglas, Dublin 11 has come on the market through Hamilton Osborne King. Situated close to the M50 and M1, it is a modern detached unit of 4,702sq m (50,612sq ft) on 2.471 acres. The multi-purpose unit is guided at €6.5 million or is available to rent at €635,000 per annum.

Irish firms make shortlist for top UK retail design awards

Retail design specialist Douglas Wallace Architects and Designers has been shortlisted for the prestigious UK Retail Design Awards, also known as the REDS. Peter Mark, Dundrum has been shortlisted in the "best non-high street" category and the "best non-fashion" category. A Wear and BT2 in the Red Mall, Blanchardstown have been shortlisted in the "best fashion project" category.

Rents from €30,000 for four retail units in Dublin 8

Four new commercial units, just off Cork Street at Newmarket, Dublin 8 have come on the market through Hooke and MacDonald Commercial. The units are part of a mixed-use scheme of 44 apartments, retails units and office suites. These flexible own-door units are from 126-194sq m (1,356-2,088sq ft) and are fully fitted, including glazed shop fronts. They are ready for use with flexible leases, quoting rents from €30,000 per annum.

€20,000 rent for retail unit at Cows Lane in Temple Bar

Hooke and MacDonald Commercial is quoting a rent of €20,000 per annum for a retail unit at Cows Lane in Temple Bar. Number 3, Sauls Court has 49sq m (527sq ft) and is fully fitted, ready for occupation.

Mixed-use Monasterevin investment for €550,000

A commercial unit is for sale in Monasterevin, one of the fastest growing commuter towns in Co Kildare. The property is available in one or two lots with Colm McEvoy Commercial, in Newbridge. Lot one comprises a two-storey residence suitable for conversion to retail and/or residential units - it has a guide price of €350,000. Lot two is a commercial building of almost 140sq m (1,507sq ft) with planing permission for a crèche. The guide in this case is €200,000. The entire is available at €550,000.

€15 million for 5.5-acre greenfield site in Swords

A greenfield site has become available on Dublin's northside in the Nevinstown area. Strong interest is expected, given that it is one of the last remaining zoned development opportunities in the Airside/Nevinstown catchment. Agent Hamilton Osborne King has provided a guide of €15 million for the 5.5-acre (2.23ha) site which will be sold at auction in one or two lots on October 5th. The property breaks into two irregularly-shaped greenfield sites given a central access road that splits the site in two. This road leads to a proposed new roadway to link with the new homes developments at Feltrim Hall and Gorse Hill.

The site lies 15kms from the city centre beside the airport, M1 and M50. It adjoins the Airside Retail and Motor Mall Park and is close to Swords and its Pavilions centre. It is located within the Nevinstown Local Area Plan, an area of 29.5 hectares zoned ST1. This zoning permits mixed-use development to include motor showrooms, part-residential use up to 30 per cent, garage, neighbourhood shop and science and technology-based enterprise - these based on necessary planning consents. Nevinstown is at an advanced stage of development and has a good mix of facilities. HOK expects strong interest in the site, given its mixed-use and ease-of-access via the motorways and feeder routes. There are residential and retail schemes nearby, and purchasers could also consider office and warehouse possibilities, the agent suggests.