A shop which is close to part of the Carlton site on O'Connell Street has been bought by developer Joe O'Reilly who plans to link the street with the revamped Ilac Centre, writes Jack Fagan
A private investor who bought a retail building at 36 Henry Street, Dublin 1, in the early 1990s for less than the equivalent of €1 million, has resold it for over €18 million.
It is easily the highest price paid on the street for a conventional retail building and is more than €7 million above the original guide price.
Most retail buildings in the city centre have shot up in value over the past decade but few have done as well as the Henry Street premises which is in close proximity of part of the former Carlton cinema site where developer Joe O'Reilly is planning to link up O'Connell Street with the Ilac Centre via Moore Street as part of a major shopping and entertainment complex.
Not surprisingly, O'Reilly's was the highest of five bids for 36 Henry Street when it was offered for sale by private treaty through Ann Hargaden of Lisney.
The initial yield will be the lowest in the city at under 1 per cent but, with a rent review due in June next, the current rent of €240,000 is expected to rise to at least €400,000.
The four-storey building is let to Irish Life & Permanent under a lease which has another 16 years to run.
Number 36 Henry Street is expected to benefit from improvements due to take place in the area, including the redevelopment of the Carlton site.
O'Reilly bought a 25 per cent interest in the Ilac Centre from British Land about 18 months ago for €125 million.
He has since assumed responsibility for the redevelopment of the centre which had become extremely rundown under the management of the other joint owner, Irish Life.
The shopping facilities have now been transformed following a major refurbishment which is costing €60 million.
The centre had remained virtually unchanged since it was completed in the 1980s.
O'Reilly's experience in leading the Castlethorn team that developed the successful Dundrum Town Centre has come in handy at the Ilac Centre where a redeveloped frontage on to Mary Street has the high profile fashion retailer H & M as one of the new anchor tenants.
Only last week O'Reilly acquired the Royal Hotel on O'Connell Street to open the way for a larger development on the Carlton site. Dublin City Council has strongly supported the plan to link up O'Connell Street with Moore Street and the Ilac Centre.
The scheme is expected to greatly enhance the top end of O'Connell Street which has been in decline for a long number of years. The council has indicated that O'Reilly is the preferred developer for the Carlton site if its efforts to compulsorily acquire the property from its owners are successful. The purchase is being contested through the courts.
Once that redevelopment gets under way, it will provide more shoppers for Arnotts when it embarks on its ambitious plans to redevelop much of Liffey Street and Middle Abbey Street.
