A new marketing campaign gets under way today for Ireland’s largest ever speculative development of logistics buildings.
Leading UK developer Mountpark has begun construction of the first of three detached logistics buildings at Baldonnel Business Park on the Naas Road (N7) in Dublin 22. When completed, the €40 million scheme is expected to deliver around 1,000 jobs.
Mountpark is expected to be particularly pleased with its first Irish launch, which has already attracted interest from a potential tenant interested in two-thirds of the planned new space.
The 33,444sq m (360,000sq ft) buildings planned for the newly named Mountpark Baldonnel Park will be located opposite Citywest Business Park, accessed directly off the northbound carriageway of the N7.
The first block, extending to 11,045sq m (118,891sq ft) along with a two-storey office building to the front, will be ready for fit-out by October. The second phase, which is of interest to a possible tenant, will have two adjoining logistics buildings, each with a floor area of 11,179sq m (120,333sq ft), including two-storey office blocks to the front with floor areas of 415sq m (4,467sq ft).
The three buildings will feature clear internal eaves heights of around 12.5m while loading access will be via 10 dock levellers and four standard-grade access doors to the rear elevations. Occupiers are also likely to be impressed by a yard depth of more than 40m.
Location
Baldonnel Business Park was developed by SIAC in the late 1990s and was subsequently acquired by the John Cutts-led Big Box Logistics firm. It is now home to many well-known companies, including MJ Flood, Jaguar Land Rover, DAF Distributors Ireland and McGuire Haulage.
Garret McClean of CBRE, the letting agent along with Knight Frank, said the continued growth of ecommerce had led to an increased demand for quality logistics stock around the M50. Most of the current requirements are retail driven or working within the retail-related supply chain.
The joint agents are quoting a rent of €9.25 per sq ft for the first block under construction.
According to a new report on the commercial property market from CBRE, after several years of limited construction activity, other than design-and-build projects, a small number of speculative schemes are now under way in the Dublin market. An increase in the availability of industrial and logistics stock is expected over the next 12-18 months, particularly now that rental values justified new development.
Phillip O’Callaghan, managing director in the UK and Ireland for Mountpark, said the company chose Baldonnel for its first Irish investment because of the strategic location close to main transport routes. This would be the first project in Ireland built specifically for logistics purposes and to the standards demanded by global operators.
O’Callaghan said that the development would be a magnet for investment in south Dublin and would provide a significant boost to the economy in the county.
Two Dublin-based companies, Rohan Holdings, and Green Reit, have a number of logistics warehouses close to Dublin Airport and are expected to embark on further developments to facilitate the continuing growth in ecommerce.
