Harcourt secures permission to convert two blocks at Park West Avenue
As property developers’ focus on residential development continues to surge, some are getting creative. Take Harcourt Developments, for example. The veteran developer, which is behind large-scale schemes such as the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, has secured planning permission at Park West Avenue in Dublin 12 to convert two existing office blocks, numbers 70 and 72, into apartments.
The offices are situated within Park West, the 93-hectare (230 acre) business and technology campus, which also incorporates apartments and a hotel. In all, the developer sought planning permission to provide 84 new apartments by converting existing office space and adding a new set-back penthouse level on top of each block.
The blocks would feature 34 one-bed units and 50 two-bed units, with one car-parking space per apartment allocated at basement level, in addition to bike storage.
While the developer did not indicate the intended end goal for the apartments during the planning process, logic would suggest that the blocks will lend themselves particularly well to the build-to-rent market given Park West’s strong transport links.
The blocks are situated about a five-minute walk from the local train station, which offers access to Dublin city centre in 20 minutes, and are a short drive to the M50. Likewise, they are also located adjacent to a range of existing facilities, including a creche, eateries, medical centre and gym.
Harcourt’s planned development could be the first of many such developments in large Dublin business parks, which benefit from good transport links and relatively low office rents, as the rise in popularity of build-to-rent and high residential rents may now render such schemes financially viable.