One of Dublin's great landmark buildings, National Irish Bank at 23/27 College Green, has finally come on the market - but there are strings attached to the sale.
The bank is proposing that whoever buys the building will be obliged to lease back what it calls a "substantial" retail branch to the rear on St Andrews Street.
Under this arrangement, the purchaser will have the high profile frontage on to College Green, including the huge banking hall and the three upper floors, as well as the basement. The bank's decision to open a branch office on the St Andrew Street side is hardly surprising, given the increased volume of business and tourist traffic on the street.
As the building stands, it is thought to be worth around £9.5 million (€12.06m). However, the selling price will largely be determined by how much space the bank will be retaining on a long lease and how much rent they will be prepared to pay for it.
Because of the number of issues still to be settled, Hamilton Osborne King will be offering the building for sale by private treaty. The purchaser will be obliged to remodel it and hand over the bank branch in the spring of next year, when the bank is due to close the main banking hall.
Duncan Lyster of HOK says there is obvious potential to convert the banking hall for use as a bar or nightclub, and to continue to use the overhead floors as offices.
The building might also be suitable for a small boutique-style hotel, but the installation of a bar in the banking hall seems more likely, given the new freedom to move pub licences from one part of the country to another. However, the building is also likely to be of interest to Trinity College because of its close proximity.
Whoever buys the property can be certain that both the Dublin Civic Trust and An Taisce will be closely monitoring their plans. In the UK, many bank branches have become coffee shops and bars, but in New York and Paris, the planning laws make it more difficult for these buildings to change use.
The College Green building, with over 34,000 sq ft of floor space, is noted for its exceptionally ornate banking hall. The arched ceiling features deep panels in geometic patterns.
The equally impressive facade, completed in the Italian Gothic style in 1867, features limestone from the Sheephouse Quarries near Drogheda, dressings of Portland stone and ornaments of Caen stone.
