July 2006

Profile Park gets under way

The development will rival its most prestigious European counterparts, writes Con Power CONSTRUCTION has begun on a €1 billion development at Nangor Road, near Grange Castle in west Dublin. The major new complex will include "Trade City", our first-ever dedicated trade park. Providing a major vote of confidence in the commercial property market future, Profile Properties has embarked upon a 279,000 sqm business park complex at the West Dublin location. After the recent acquisition of neighbouring lands, Profile Park now extends to 125 acres -- almost half the size of Sandyford Industrial Estate -- and is strategically situated between the N4/N7 corridors. This will be the first major new commercial development in the Naas Road area in more than 10 years. The promoters report that pre-sales and lettings have got off to an encouraging start, with work due to commence in January on two purpose-built headquarter office buildings totaling 7,500 sqm for two leading Irish PLCs. Further space is also reserved for an international logistics company, while Collen Construction has purchased a large site in the park on which it plans to build industry and enterprise units. Joint agents Agar Commercial Property Consultants and Savills Hamilton Osborne King are quoting around €210 per sqm for the office space and €195 per sqm for Trade City space. Willie Norse of Agar comments: "We have been pleasantly surprised at the very strong stream of both purchasers and tenants. We have concluded two major sales and four tenancy agreements from both multinational and indigenous companies. "Profile Park is proving popular due to the improving transport links and residential development taking place in the surrounding areas, combined with the need to relocate from older industrial estates that are now being redeveloped or have become congested by traffic." John Paul Construction has almost completed the first phase of infrastructural work on this €1bn development. This will comprise industrial and logistics, showrooms, convenience shopping and state-of-the-art offices overlooking Grange Castle Golf Course, as well as what is claimed to be Ireland's first truly dedicated trade park. The joint agents say this high-quality designed scheme will compete at the top end of the market and will be "on a par with its most prestigious counterparts throughout Europe". Profile Properties is a seasoned Dublin-based development company with a growing portfolio of world-class developments -- and a proven knack of anticipating market trends ahead of the competition, consistently setting new design parameters. Its hugely successful projects to date include the widely acclaimed Beacon Court project, the Harcourt Building and Westland Park. Its tenant roll is likewise blue chip, including Bank of America, Mellon Bank, Max Re and others. With Profile Park, Profile Properties' aim is to provide an enhanced working environment through quality aesthetic features. This will be reflected in all aspects of the development, from landscaping/design to telecommunications/access. Chelsea Garden Show medallist Paul Martin has joined the team as landscape consultant. An adaptation of his award-winning garden, Falling Waters -- which featured at the world-famous Hampton Court Flower Show -- is to be a key feature at the new park park. "Attention to detail has always been of great importance in any of Profile Properties' developments," Willie Norse at Agar comments. "Profile Park will be no different, with much time and effort being spent on an imposing tree- lined avenue, lighting, roundabouts, generous roads, granite curbs and pathways." The area around Grange Castle is thus set to see significant changes over the coming year, with major improvements in infrastructure and amenities. The massive infrastructural investment for the region, including the almost complete Outer Ring Road, improvements to suburban rail and the planned Metro West, will all enhance the new complex as an attractive place to locate businesses. Profile Park will also benefit from extensive development already taking place in the area, including nearby Adamstown, which on completion is expected to have 25,000 residents. Other multi-national concerns that have chosen the Grange Castle area as a destination for their businesses are Wyeth, Takeda, Cuisine de France and, most recently, Microsoft, who have announced plans to develop one of Europe's largest data centres in the vicinity.

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