Tenant sought for €170m Burlo block

The first phase of an international marketing campaign gets under way today to find tenants for a substantial new office building under construction on Burlington Road, Dublin 4.

Advertisements for the block beside the former Burlington Hotel will follow similar campaigns by several other office developers targeting overseas companies planning to trade in Dublin.

With all developers anxious to speed up the delivery of their new buildings, joint letting agents Savills and Knight Frank have made it known that the Burlington Road block, to be known as the Vertium Building, "is due for completion in Q2 2017" .

Construction got under way last July and with the double basement now fully excavated, the main structure is already rising from the ground.

The rush by a handful of developers to get the new office market moving again after a six-year standstill will be widely welcomed because of well-founded fears that the shortage of high density accommodation could restrict the inflow of overseas investment which have changed the fortunes of the city in recent years.

The €170 million Burlington Road development was embarked on by Johnny Ronan's development group in conjunction with U+I (previously known as DevelopmentSecurities) and Colony Capital. The project was subsequently acquired by Union Investment Real Estate, Germany's largest investment management company which a year ago bought two office buildings occupied by Facebook at Grand Canal Square for €232 million.

The six-storey over double basement Vertium Building will have an overall floor area of 15,978sq m (172,000sq ft) and will be capable of accommodating up to 2,000 workers.

Panoramic

The design by Paul O’Brien of

Henry J Lyons

, draws inspiration from projects around the world to create a progressive, eye-catching development. The striking panoramic building will span almost 100m on Burlington Road and will be surrounded by 1,800sq m of landscaping. The detached nature of the new structure will allow for exceptional light on all sides and column free floor plates to the front and rear.

The extensive floor plates will average around 2,694sq m (29,000sq ft). There will be a large double-height central entrance lobby and a central bank of 21 passenger lifts which may set the standard in Ireland for years go come. The fit-out will include LEED Gold and Ber 3 ratings to ensure that the building will be economical in use and environmentally friendly.

Investment

The joint letting agents , Roland O’Connell of Savills and Declan O’Reilly of Knight Frank, who will be quoting in excess of €592 per sq m (€55 per sq ft) for space in Vertium, said a major new development such as this was crucial in ensuring Dublin remained a competitive city when it came to attracting foreign direct investment.

The level of interest was very encouraging, they said, prompted by the fact that there was very little new stock that could be delivered within the next 15 to 18 months in Dublin.

Shane Whelan, development director, said that the Ronan Group is proud to deliver another “best in class” office building in a proven central Dublin location where it has previously delivered such a marquee building as Connaught House.

“In conjunction with our development partner U&I along with Union Investments, the delivery of a substantial building offering large flexible floorplates will be a timely boost for the office market,” he said.