Green to invest €38m in Blanchardstown Centre

Green Property will invest €38 million (£30 million) in the Blanchardstown Centre over the next 18 months. The investment in a retail park and office development could create an extra 1,500 jobs at the centre, which currently employed 4,000 people, Green Property chief executive Mr Stephen Vernon said yesterday.

The development will be financed from the group's resources. Construction has already started on the 65,000 sq ft office development, which is expected to be completed next September.

Mr Vernon said he was "comfortable" with the decision to go ahead with the office development at a time when there is a growing over-supply of offices in Dublin suburbs. "This is something that feeds off Blanchardstown itself," he said. "There is no office space within walking distance of the centre."

Green Property also said the development would appeal to smaller businesses wishing to relocate from the city centre. The offices would accommodate up to 10 tenants in two blocks, the company said.

Green Property is also awaiting a decision from An Bord Pleanβla on a 150,000 sq ft extension to the Blanchardstown Centre Retail Park. Hardware retailer B&Q will anchor the planned extension which, subject to planning, will also feature five additional retail units of 10,000 sq ft each, and a multi-deck car park for an additional 1,000 cars. Mr Vernon said he expected a decision from An Bord Pleanβla shortly, and the company hoped to start construction of the retail park extension early in the new year.

The company was likely to seek further planning permission for retail space at the centre as it was continuing to attract interest from retailers, including a number of European operators, he said. The company was also examining the possibility of locating a hotel on a two-acre site at the centre.

The Blanchardstown Centre, which Mr Vernon described as the "jewel in the crown of Green's portfolio", makes up more than half of Green Property's Irish portfolio. With the Irish property portfolio accounting for around 50 per cent of the company's assets, the centre makes up one quarter of the overall assets of the company.

Green's latest investment is in addition to €35 million invested by the company over the past 18 months, which included the development of a third department store for Penneys and additional car- parks. The centre has a current turnover of more than €1.2 billion and had recorded more than 68.25 million shopper visits in the past five years, Green Property said.

The company has entered into negotiations with tenants over a review of rents at the centre. While rents of more than £150 (€190) per sq ft were achieved in recent lettings, many of the original tenants were charged £60 per sq ft.