Construction is to begin next spring on the first major office and residential development within Dublin's Grand Canal Docks area.
The scheme will be the forerunner of a vast redevelopment project which is to transform the area over the next few years.
The £20 million (€25.39) project at 5/7 Hanover Quay, Grand Canal Harbour, is being undertaken by Ellier Developments and will include 80,000 sq ft of offices and 70 apartments.
The six-storey office building will look south over the new campshires, facing across the water to the Charlotte Quay development, which includes the Ocean bar and restaurant, in Ringsend.
Roland O'Connell of Hamilton Osborne King has begun marketing the offices at 5/7 Hanover Quay, quoting a rent of £35 (€44.44) per sq ft. A single tenant is the preferred option at this stage but the flexible layout will allow it to be occupied by a number of companies if necessary. The offices will be completed within 15 months of Ellier commencing development work on the site, which is now occupied by a warehouse. Architects Burke Kennedy Doyle have designed the U-shaped building, which will take advantage of its superb waterfront location and offers views over the city to the Wicklow mountains.
The offices will be finished with honed limestone and structural glazed curtain walling, and will be entered through a handsome double height atrium or hall. The fit-out will be to the highest possible specification, including air conditioning.
The main focus of the redevelopment of the Dublin docklands is about to switch to the southside, where the Dublin Docklands Development Authority is to release two further sites on the former Bord Gβis ╔ireann lands for a four-star hotel and 200 apartments. Grand Canal Harbour will eventually have over one million sq ft of offices, 1,200 new homes and a range of hotels, cultural facilities, bars, shops and restaurants.
