Investors and developers involved in the delivery of accommodation for the capital’s prime residential market have a rare opportunity to secure a significant foothold capable of accommodating several hundred new homes on the waterfront in Dublin 4.
With US-headquartered engineering company Jacobs Engineering due to vacate the long-standing base of its Irish operations at Merrion House on Merrion Road in January 2024, joint agents Savills and Hooke & MacDonald have been engaged by developer Joe O’Reilly’s Castlethorn to put the office building and its 1.18-hectare (2.92-acre) site up for sale. Merrion House is being offered to the market at a guide price of €19.75 million, or €30 million less than the €50 million O’Reilly’s company paid Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) when it acquired the property in an off-market deal in 2005. Bank of Ireland had purchased the building for its part from Jacobs Engineering for Irl£17.5 million (€22.22 million) in 1998, providing the engineering giant with a gross uplift of £7 million (€8.89 million) on the Irl£10.5 million (€13.33 million) it had paid for it in June 1995.
Although Merrion House’s current guide price represents a 61 per cent discount on its Celtic Tiger high, the property had been generating €2 million in annual rental income at the time of Castlethorn’s purchase from its then tenant base of Jacobs Engineering, Swiftcall and Combined Insurance.
With the last of those occupiers – Jacobs Engineering – due to vacate in four months’ time, the building and adjoining lands, or Project Vista as the portfolio is known, is being marketed by the joint-selling agents as an opportunity for a range of buyers including residential and commercial developers, investors and owner-occupiers.
The subject property comprises the Merrion House office building which extends to 8,036sq m (86,493sq ft) over three floors along with 201 surface car-parking spaces on an overall site area of 1.18 hectares (2.92 acres).
While a feasibility study drawn up by O’Mahony Pike Architects in preparation for the sale process has identified three possible uses for Merrion House, it is notable that none of these envisages a scenario in which the site would be given over in its entirety for office use in the future. All three scenarios do, however, point to the land’s potential as a prime residential development.
The first scenario has already formed the basis of pre-planning discussions with council planners and allows for up to 222 apartments on the site’s existing surface car park. The second scenario sets out various refurbishment and retrofit options for Merrion House along with the development of up to 150 residential units in the adjacent car park. The third scenario meanwhile outlines the potential to redevelop the entire site to deliver up to 305 residential units along with up to 110,000sq ft of commercial space.
Should the purchaser decide instead to pursue a retrofit of the existing office building, the selling agents maintain that it offers scope for conversion to a variety of alternative uses including medical, education, hotel or residential accommodation. Looking at the building’s potential for medical use, the agents note that the immediate area “has become a hub for medical and research establishments with the ever-expanding presence of St Vincent’s University Hospital and Blackrock Clinic”, both of which are located nearby.
The Project Vista site occupies a prime location with uninterrupted views of Dublin Bay and about 170m of frontage to Merrion Road. The site is well connected by public transport with Booterstown Dart station 650m to the south and Sydney Parade Dart station located 975m to the north providing access to Dublin city centre.
Joint-selling agents Savills and Hooke & MacDonald say: “Merrion House is not just a landmark office property, the additional site area provides a canvas for significant potential. Its strategic location and unrivalled sea views make it a nexus for opportunities across various sectors.”
