The Courtyard, an office development under construction at Sandyford Industrial Estate, has been designed specifically to attract owner-occupiers and investors. Individual units as small as 2,900 sq ft can be purchased and then assembled into larger units by business partners.
Availability at the Courtyard, on Carmanhall Road, is expected by spring 2002. Built by D & L Properties and handled by Douglas Newman Good Commercial, the scheme offers 57,500 sq ft (5,350 sq m) of accommodation with units from 2,900 sq ft and up.
"It is different compared to other units at Sandyford," explained Mr Ben Pearson, commercial partner at Douglas Newman Good. "We have gone out of our way to develop a better product."
The Courtyard is a four-storey plus penthouse over basement, U-shaped structure that takes its name from the open space formed at its entrance and bounded on three sides. It is fully air conditioned, with raised access floors and two decks of underground car parking spaces. The building will be sold or rented ready to go, awaiting nothing more than partitions and carpet tiles to get an office opened, Mr Pearson said.
About 80 per cent of the space will go to owner occupiers on the basis of current interest, Mr Pearson said, with the remainder going to let but with an anticipation of purchase in time.
Space costs £350 plus VAT per sq ft to buy and is expected to rent out at up to £20 per sq ft. This appears high but Mr Pearson said values had risen at Sandyford and nearby properties were achieving this return.
The square site and subsequent building design means that the space divides conveniently into squares and rectangles. It also allows individuals to come together to build a single large unit, Mr Pearson explained. A typical situation would be for each partner in, say, an architectural practice to purchase a 3,000 sq ft unit and then join them together. The company would then rent the space back from the "owners".
The great advantage was that each person could "buy a unit in their own name", Mr Pearson said. This made it much easier for a partner to leave or dispose of their property without the legal problems associated with shared property ownership. It was also very tax efficient in that the property purchase could be made as a longterm pension provision.
D & L Properties plans a second building as part of its Sandyford development, The Forum on Ballymoss Road. Construction on this 90,000 sq ft (8,400 sq m) block is expected to begin in February 2002.
Architects for the project, Horan Keogan Ryan designed these buildings to allow major tenants with "large floor plates" to move in while still leaving the flexibility of sub-division into smaller "own-door" office suites.
Interestingly, the Courtyard's backers are promoting the fact that the development has "no creches, no shops, no supermarkets, no restaurants" on site. Promotional material suggests occupants "won't have to battle for your own car space with parents dropping their kids to the creche in the morning or shoppers popping in at lunchtime to collect a few groceries or get their hair done".
It advises, however, that people "will be able to visit the other office blocks in the immediate area and enjoy their facilities and use their car spaces". It is also promising a bike park and shower facilities for those inclined to cycle or jog to work.
