New tax designated offices for Tallaght

Construction of a 50,000 sq ft tax designated office development with 340 car-parking spaces on a site adjoining Tallaght Hospital in south-west Dublin is due to start in the coming weeks.

The Finnegan Menton agency is marketing the scheme, which will be close to The Square shopping centre.

The Exchange development at Belgard Road will include a headquarters building of 29,000 sq ft, together with office suites from 1,500 to 10,000 sq ft. The fully designated underground parking is expected to provide a big attraction for companies seeking to locate in the area. The development, which is being promoted by a consortium led by businessman Bernard McNamara, will be one of the first to get started under the new Urban Renewal Scheme announced earlier this year.

Finnegan Menton is quoting office rents of £16 per sq ft on long leases. Alternatively, the developers will consider selling the offices. Both investors and owner-occupiers will be entitled to 100 per cent capital allowances, 50 per cent of it in the first year and four per cent annually thereafter.

The offices at The Exchange, across the road from the headquarters of South Dublin County Council, will be part of an overall mixed development, to include 147 apartments. Companies and service providers involved in health and healthcare activities are likely to be among those interested in the offices because of their proximity to Tallaght Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the country. The hospital has almost 600 beds and a staffing level of almost 2,000.

The car-parking requirements of the hospital are constantly increasing and some staff are being temporarily accommodated in The Square.

Proximity to The Square shopping centre, restaurants and hotels will be an attraction for potential office leaseholders. In recent years, a number of major employers have established operations in the Belgard area of Tallaght, including Cuisine de France, Gilbeys, ABB Group, and United Drug.

The LUAS Light Rail System, linking Tallaght with the city centre, will be located within walking distance of The Exchange.

Tallaght is one of the fastest growing commercial centres in the greater Dublin area because of its expanding infrastructure.

The Tallaght Town Centre 2000 Plan proposed that new developments would help create a series of new streets in the vicinity of The Square and the hospital. The Exchange development has been designed in line with the local authority's 2000 Plan, hence the location of car-parking underground. The plan recommended "medium rise developments (four and five storeys)". It also advised that "the relative lack of context in built form in the Town Centre provides opportunities for the design of good modern architecture".

A major objective of the 2000 Plan has been to create a traffic circulation box around the Town Centre to remove through traffic and create a pedestrian oriented centre.