Park West to set a standard

DUBLIN is to get another major business park. More than 750,000 square feet of industrial and warehousing space is to be provided in a new 70-acre park close to the interchange of the M50 ring road and the Naas road in west Dublin.

A planning application lodged yesterday with South Dublin County Council covers one of the largest single industrial developments embarked on in this country

The 26 buildings planned for the first phase of the scheme will have a completed value of more than £37 million.

Park West, which is being launched by property developers Pat Doherty and Gerry Maguire, will be a new generation business park, offering a superb landscaped environment along the banks of the Grand Canal.

The park will be light years away from many of the crudely designed industrial estates which gather around the Naas road on the outskirts of the city.

The concept for the new campus was devised after a study of the latest facilities being built overseas. Pat Doherty says Park West will provide the very best amenities for both international companies opening up here and Irish companies looking for a prestigious business location.

The promoters are to make maximum use of the Grand Canal which forms a natural southern boundary to Park West. The canal is to be completely restored between the M50 and the Killeen Road in a joint venture between Mr Doherty's company and the waterways service of the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

Work has already begun on dredging and cleaning the canal and upgrading locks, which had fallen into disrepair. A new docking area for boats and barges is to be provided, along with benches and a picnic area.

The scheme forms part of an overall plan for the waterway and Government officials hope to use the Park West campus as a prototype for further improvements along the canal in the Dublin area.

The developers have also spent around £2 million on a bridge which will provide direct access on to Nangor Road, which in turn links directly on to the Naas Road at the junction with Long Mile Road.

Park West will occupy one of the last greenfield sites within the established Naas Road area bounded by the canal to the south and the railway line to the north. The park has a further advantage of being located beside Cherry Orchard railway station.

The land was initially earmarked for industrial development by the IDA when it acquired the site in the early 1980s.

It was subsequently sold on because of a change of policy which shifted responsibility for funding new buildings from the IDA to private sector.

The business park is the only one of any significant size planned within the M50 ring road. The lands run to 150 acres and in the long term are likely to accommodate about 2.5 million square feet of space.

There are a number of large headquarters buildings beside Park West including Gilbeys and Toyota and several other large operations such as Semperit and the main postal sorting office.

Park West's strategic location has already proved a strong selling point even before the industrial zoning is converted into detailed planning permission.

Dunloe plc is to pre-fund a 40,000-square-foot industrial unit on a site of 1 1/2 acres. Ballinlough Refrigeration has also agreed terms on the purchase of 1 1/2 acres for a new 10,000-square-foot headquarters. A third company has agreed terms to purchase 3.75 acres for a 50,000-square-foot distribution facility.

Joint agents Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) and Palmer McCormack are quoting sale prices of between £50 and £55 per square foot and rents of £5 to £5.50 per square foot, depending on final specification. Serviced sites are also for sale at £150,000 per acre

Sean O'Neill of LSH says the site will be broken into a number of distinct zones with, for example, low density high-tech units located beside the Grand Canal. High-bay warehouses will mainly be concentrated along the northern boundary at the railway line.

The promoters will be hoping a considerable number of Irish companies will opt for the new park either when they are rationalising their operation, when they have an opportunity to opt out of their leases or when they are expanding.

Mr Doherty believes the timing is excellent, not only because of the sharp pick-up in inquiries for industrial units but also because more than 80 per cent of the industrial buildings in Dublin are at least 20 years old.