Mountpark Logistics EU has hired Newry-based Mac-group to develop the first phase of a €40 million logistics and industrial park planned for Baldonnell in south Co Dublin.
The joint venture between UK-based property development company Mountpark, whose existing tenants include Amazon and Eddie Stobart, and Texas-headquartered USAA Real Estate, received planning permission last year to build the speculative development.
In total, the Baldonnell project will comprise three purpose-built high-bay logistics facilities, with the first phase, extending to about 120,000sq ft, expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.
The industrial sector emerged last year as the hottest area of the Irish commercial property market, delivering total returns of about 14.5 per cent for the 12 months through September, compared to 10.5 per cent for the office market and 10.8 per cent for the retail sector, according to the MSCI Ireland Property Index.
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The Irish Times reported earlier this month that US hedge fund York Capital is seeking to take advantage of growing interest in this segment of the property market, with plans to put about €80 million of industrial units it has accumulated in Ireland in recent years into a company called Core Industrial, which is being lined up for flotation. Core Industrial is seeking to raise up to €250 million to spend on further industrial and logistics assets.
Mountpark Logistics said that its planned development, located between Casement Aerodrome and Baldonnell Business Park and six kilometres from the M50 motorway, is seeking to take advantage of increasing demand for warehousing space in Ireland against the backdrop of a “severe shortage of dedicated logistics space in Dublin”.
Green Reit, Rohan Holdings and Exeter Property Group are among companies planning or constructing speculative logistics and industrial developments at the moment on the outskirts of Dublin.
Mountpark Logistics estimates that 120 people will be employed in the construction of its planned park, with up to 850 jobs expected to be created by companies operating from the location.
“This project will be the first of its kind in Ireland, built specifically for logistics purposes and to the standards demanded by global operators,” said Mountpark Logistics’ managing director Philip O’Callaghan.
