Coldwell Banker Estates

There was quite a delay between completing the first phase of Smithfield, and starting the second — eight years — but no one could have anticipated that this delay would affect the mood of Dubliners. However, it has done so. To the extent, in fact, that the public apparently find the open Plaza — intended as the piece de resistance of the site — “alienating”.

The Light House Cinema, described by some as the most exciting cinema in the country and relocated from Abbey Street a few years ago, reports that “as people make their way to and from the cinema they face a daunting prospect in the somewhat alienating space of Smithfield Plaza, as it is now”.

Footfall, apparently, is quite low in the square at present, in spite of the fact that the area, which had been one of the city’s least populated, now has one of the biggest populations of any ward.

Things are looking up, however, because Dublin City Councillors have now approved a multi-million euro extension and improvement of the plaza.

It will be half-funded by the EU, but among their conditions is that the works must be completed by December of this year.

The proposed works include provision of power service points for future markets or events, and the removal of existing public lights and the provision of new public lights along the eastern side of the space.

The provision of brackets to facilitate banners on existing braziers are also proposed.

Local residents were very much involved in discussions for the second phase and their comments — mostly very supportive — were considered carefully by the Council.

The Plaza takes up the central area, surrounded on four sides by a mix of residential apartments and commercial offices. The Probation Office is there as is the Motor Tax Office, two hotels, restaurants, shops and the cinema. Dominating all is the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery and the Observation Tower.

When phase one was undertaken in 1997 the restoration involved lifting more than 400,000 120-year-old cobblestones, cleaning them by hand and relaying them!

Flanking the plaza at the moment are twelve 26.5-metre gas lighting masts, each with a two-metre flame, lit only occasionally.

Final plans include tree-planting and a landscaped terraced area while play equipment and associated repaving are proposed for the North King Street end. At the Luas end the historic paving sets will be relayed, existing trees will be removed and seating and further landscaped areas provided.

Smithfield Market was laid out in the mid-17th century as a market place and has a far happier history than its two name-sakes — London’s Smithfield was a scene of multiple burnings by Bloody Queen Mary in Tudor Times, while Smithfield in Belfast was the scene of hangings which were watched, gruesomely, by large crowds of people.

After the initial renewal of Dublin’s square it was used to hold concerts, but these were discontinued following complaints from local residents. It now has a seasonal ice rink which is quite popular.

Its greatest problem arises from concerns about the Smithfield Horse Fair, which is held on the first Sunday of every month and continues to be the subject of much debate.

The proposed enhancement works do not in themselves inhibit or impinge negatively on the future continuation of the fair. But although it is often romanticised the fair, in fact, is highly dangerous with up to 200 horses wandering unsupervised in the open space, and it seems only a matter of time until some eight-year old, riding bareback as fast as he can in the Civic Centre, comes into collision with a LUAS tram.

Suggestions have been made that the horse fair be transferred to the nearby Phoenix Park.

This would seem to be an ideal solution as there would be plenty of grass for the horses, safety for the dealers, many of whom are children, — and relief for the residents of Smithfield.

Printed in The Irish Independent on 09.04.10

COUNCILLORS IN Dún Laoghaire, south Dublin, are to attempt to overturn a zoning decision taken by them last month at the direction of the Minister for the Environment in the latest battle over retail development in the area.

The Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Development Plan 2010- 2016 comes into force today, but the process to change it could begin next week if a Fine Gael councillors’ motion to rezone The Park, Carrickmines, off the M50 motorway, is accepted.

Last month, after councillors rejected advice from John Gormley, the Minister directed them not to increase the retail zoning at The Park from 10,000sq m to 25,000sq m as part of the council’s development plan process.

He had said the rezoning would seriously compromise and undermine the Greater Dublin Area Retail Strategy.

Despite the legal status of the ministerial order, made under Section 31 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, councillors went ahead with a ballot to accept or reject the rezoning.

The ballot, on March 11th, was so close Fine Gael Cathaoirleach Councillor Marie Baker was forced to use her casting vote to ensure the Minister’s direction was followed. But some councillors were unhappy with the decision. They will attempt to change the zoning at a council meeting on Monday.

Fine Gael councillors Tom Joyce, Jim O’Leary, Barry Ward, John Bailey and Maria Bailey, along with Independent councillor Gearóid O’Keeffe, tabled a Section 140 motion to direct county manager Owen Keegan to vary the plan.

The variation will increase the retail zoning of The Park to 20,000sq m.

In their submission, councillors said the enlarged centre would provide local shopping, leisure and community facilities for Stepaside, Ballyogan and Kilternan, which have a planned population of over 30,000. And the additional 10,000sq m would not increase the overall retail space in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown because it would be taken from the planned Cherrywood town centre.

Mr O’Leary said yesterday councillors had drafted the variation themselves without the benefit of legal advice, but were confident it was legal. He said the Green Party had created a political issue out it.

“There is an element of the Greens creating a non-existent issue to wrap themselves in; their raison d’être that “you can trust us on planning”, but they are creating a non-issue at the cost of hundreds of jobs,” he said.

He said he was satisfied the rezoning was good planning and there were already tenants, including Tesco, ready to move in to the enlarged development.

A spokesman for Mr Gormley said it was Mr O’Leary who was attempting to politicise the issue. The Minister was acting on advice from planning experts within the department and from Mr O’Leary’s own officials.

“The intervention was based on evidence and not on claims and it is good for everyone, not just one developer or landowner. Developer-led planning is the type of planning that got us into the problems we have now,” he said.

Printed in The Irish Times on 08.04.10

MODERN technology such as internet mapping, Google maps and iPhones should be part and parcel of the proposed postcode system, an Oireachtas Committee believes.

Ireland is the only country in the EU that does not have postcodes, but if it is done correctly our system could be streets ahead of any other, Deputy Liz McManus, the report’s author, said.

The committee has recommended “a unique identifier system” for individual properties incorporating technologies such as internet mapping and iPhones.

The roll-out of the new system can only happen if certain obstacles are overcome, the committee’s report warned yesterday.

In its second report, the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources said rigorous cost analysis and a “roadmap” for implementation were urgently needed to ensure the new system would succeed. Last September the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan announced that a national postcode system would be introduced by early 2011. An invitation for tenders is likely to be made within months.

The report, published yesterday following submissions from various groups to the joint committee, stressed that the changing economic circumstances in Ireland meant the postcodes project needed to offer measurable benefits and be delivered at a reasonable cost.

Among the recommendations, the report states that the system of postcodes must be made appropriate to meet the current and future needs of the smart economy, and that a roadmap of implementation should be published by September 2010 and a facility for consultation provided to take into account concerns as they arise.

There should be the drawing up of an incentive scheme targeting groups and individuals who can be encouraged to use postcodes by way of reward. “For example, free postage for a month for householders who use postcodes would provide dual benefits of using postcodes and boosting postal services at a time when they are under pressure,” Ms McManus said.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, April 01, 2010

In the fourth quarter of 2009, planning permissions were granted for 4,964 dwelling units, compared with 13,767 units for the same period in 2008, a decrease of 63.9%.

The fourth quarter figures (full report here>>>) also show that:

• Planning Permissions were granted for 3,457 houses in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 10,375 in the fourth quarter of 2008, a decrease of 66.7%.
• Planning permissions were granted for 1,507 apartment units, compared with 3,392 units for the same period in 2008, a decrease of 55.6%.
• One-off houses accounted for 32.7% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in this quarter.
• The total number of planning permissions granted for all developments was 5,137. This compares with 8,977 in the fourth quarter of 2008, a decrease of 42.8%.
• Total floor area planned was 1,399 thousand square metres in the fourth quarter of 2009. Of this, 58% was for new dwellings, 29.2% for other new constructions and 12.8% for extensions. The total floor area planned decreased by 60.2% in comparison with the same quarter of 2008.
• Planning Permissions for new buildings for Agriculture decreased to 127 this quarter. This compares to 214 permissions in the same quarter of 2008.

Printed in The Property Week 31.03.2010

The Irish Times – Monday, March 29, 2010

THE COLLAPSE last Friday of such a prominent architectural practice as Murray Ó Laoire shows how bleak the outlook is for many professionals in the construction sector – not just architects, but also engineers, quantity surveyors and others in the frontline of an industry in deep trouble., writes FRANK MCDONALD , Environment Editor

Murray Ó Laoire Architects (MOLA) went into liquidation, with the loss of 127 jobs, after its bankers pulled the plug. The firm said it was “unable to meet its current financial obligations” because of cumulative bad debts, problems in getting more work and “the increasing difficulties in getting paid on time, or at all”.

Seán Ó Laoire, founder (with Hugh Murray) of MOLA, said it was “devastating” to find themselves in this position. “There was a sense of inevitability about it, with nothing coming in and then not being paid for work we had done. You can only keep going for so long on that basis. Contractors, too, are on the edges of liquidity.”

That a firm of MOLA’s high calibre and experience should fall by the wayside was greeted with shock and dismay by fellow architects. “They didn’t deserve this,” one of them said. “It’s a very sad day for the architectural profession in Ireland.”

And he warned that many others could go the same way in the coming months.

“Armageddon is upon us,” he said. “What we’re looking at now is the devastation of Ireland’s building industry and its associated professions. We could see many, many building, architectural and engineering firms disappear off the face of the earth unless there is a radical rethink about the allocation of resources.”

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) estimates that half of its members are unemployed. Since the start of the credit crunch, many practices have had to lay off staff to stay in business, and this has become progressively more difficult as the recession deepens and the work dries up.

As RIAI president Paul Keogh noted in his inaugural address last month, “there are scarcely any new commissions, forward planning has come to a standstill, existing projects have been deferred indefinitely and the public tenders website is virtually blank”; the private sector, of course, is out of the picture.

Nobody believes the €579 million allocated for the school building programme this year will actually be spent, despite the obvious need for more and better schools. “It’s not happening and it won’t happen either because of bureaucratic inefficiency or, more likely, intervention by the mandarins,” one architect commented.

“The reality is that this process of winding down public expenditure on schools, healthcare centres and other much-needed social facilities is going to continue even while the Government is committing sums of money beyond our wildest imaginations to prop up the zombie banks. What is it for Anglo Irish alone – eight or nine billion euro?”

He said this was only happening because “there is an entirely different frame of reference in terms of figures” when it comes to saving the banks compared to, say, allocating funds to build schools. “There’s a major problem in our society and this will continue unless there is a serious rethink of Government policy and priorities.”

Another architect warned that if the situation facing construction industry professionals doesn’t improve within the next six months, “we’ll be folding our tents”. Even some of the larger firms are worried because much of their current work involves completing major projects and there is very little, if any, coming in.

“There’s a horror landscape out there,” Seán Ó Laoire said.

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) is planning a fire-sale of most of its 57 vacant properties to fund badly needed improvements in mental health care.

It has disused health centres, closed-down hospitals, residential houses and old dispensaries to sell — some of them located in prime sites.

The first to go will be 18 properties that have already been designated for sale or are being considered for sale in Counties Cavan, Dublin, Donegal, Kilkenny, Meath and Waterford.

It comes as new figures show the HSE spent €32m last year on renting and leasing buildings, despite the number of empty buildings it owns.

HSE director of estates Brian Gilroy said many of the vacant properties had to be sold to help raise funds for new mental health facilities.

The empty properties that could be shortly placed on the market include the infamous Ionad Follain centre — designated for asylum seekers — in Myshall, Co Carlow.

It was bought for €1.3m by the Office of Public Works in 2000, but was then left vacant due to local protests. It was sold for €1 to the HSE and has lain idle for the past decade.

Mr Gilroy said the Government had given a commitment that all of the money earned would be used to replace ageing psychiatric institutions with new mental health facilities. “My guys were set off the leash in January in each of the regions and were told ’sell everything, move it all now’ because now we have the commitment,” he said.

Mr Gilroy admitted there had been delays in selling vacant buildings, which had led to their value falling during the property crash.

But he said many were in good locations such as town centres and added that the fall in construction prices was a welcome side benefit. “Although I get less for the buildings, I can build an awful lot more with the money,” he said.

But Mr Gilroy pledged that the HSE would not sell the properties at “ridiculous prices”.

“We’ll set a reserve, they’ll go to public auction or tender and if the reserve isn’t met, we won’t dispose of them,” he said.

Another vacant property on the market is the former Our Lady’s Hospital on the northside ofCork city, which has been damaged by vandals despite a €1.5m spend on security.

Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen, who is the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said it had turned from an invaluable asset to a liability. “It’s costing them a lot in security and it’s literally a ruin. I’ve described it as the biggest derelict site in Cork city,” he said.

The HSE is in discussions with Cork City Council about the sale of Our Lady’s Hospital. It has provisionally put a price of €2m on 17 acres of the site, with the rest of it expected to fetch millions of euro more.

The HSE has a vast portfolio of more than 2,000 properties around the country. It disposed of 15 properties last year. It is hoping to raise more of the €50m needed for new mental health facilities through the sale of psychiatric hospitals.

Leases

Meanwhile, Mr Gilroy said that much of the HSE’s multi-million euro annual rental costs were due to the signing of 25-year leases by the former health boards, which could not be broken. These include the HSE headquarters in Parkgate Street in Dublin and head offices in Bray, Co Wicklow, Swords, Co Dublin, and Millennium Park in Naas, Co Kildare.

“They are four offices of considerable size, all of which are on 25-year leases. If I could get out of any of them tomorrow, I would. All of them were signed pre-HSE,” he said.

- Michael Brennan

Printed in The Irish Independent on 22.03.10

The market is moving – but cash buyers are the key, says ISABEL MORTON

NORMALLY, with Paddy’s Day behind us, we feel that spring has sprung. These days, we’re finding it a little harder to differentiate between the seasons. It’s as if the last 18 months have merged into one grey, cold blur.

Even the weather: people told us this week that the soil is still so cold that the poor little snowdrops and daffodils are struggling to make an appearance. Our property business is battling similarly against equally adverse conditions but there are still a few examples of survival against the odds.

With all the talk of surplus housing, there is still a functioning market. Viewing figures are strong and sales figures look like they will be considerably higher than those recorded during the first three months of last year.

However, reports on the state of the economy and property market are as erratic and prone to change as the weather forecast.

Like a “pet day” in the middle of a harsh spell of cold weather, last week’s report from the employers group IBEC (Irish Business and Employers Confederation) stated that the Irish economy is showing signs of recovery.

Having in its recent quarterly report revised its economic trend, its earlier gloomy forecast that GDP would shrink by 1.6 per cent has now been reduced by over half, to a figure of only 0.7 per cent.

It is also more optimistic about Ireland’s chance of recovery and has revised its forecast for economic growth from 1.7 per cent up to 2.1 per cent. While the report offers an element of hope, few are skipping around like little spring lambs, but some are cautiously optimistic that there just might be a sniff of change in the air.

Now, let’s not get excited, I said a sniff, not even a whiff, let alone a gleam, a glimmer, or a shaft, nor even a ray – just a miserable wee sniff, no more than that. Given that many property owners have bitten their nails to the quick, haven’t enjoyed a good night’s sleep for months, have lost handfuls of hair, are grinding their teeth and popping happy pills like Smarties, then, the sniff of economic improvement is good enough at least for a start.

However, Lisney director David Bewley admits that securing a mortgage is still the main stumbling block for property sales these days. “There is movement at the lower level of the property market and some small movement at more rarefied levels but the key to all movement is that the purchasers are cash buyers. Whether they have seven grand in their pocketor seven million – they are cash buyers.

“Buyers believe there is now value to be had in the market and sellers acknowledge that prices must be realistic. There is at last, a meeting of minds between most buyers and sellers although there’ll always be the few who’ll refuse to accept the new reality.”

Simon Ensor at Sherry FitzGerald agrees and says that “there are certain sections of the market which have over-corrected. Evidence of that is seen when the next property in the same estate sells for €10,000 more or when two or three people are chasing the same property. We’ve certainly had considerably more competitive situations now than we’ve had for a long time.”

He went on to say: “In some cases the market is correcting the over-correction. If prices came down by too much, the market itself is pushing them back up to where the market determines the true value should be. In a number of cases the eventual sales price far exceeds the asking price.”

But the sky clouded over once again for property owners this week when a report by Dr David Duffy of the ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute) predicted a fall in property prices of a further 10 per cent this year and 5 per cent in 2011 before eventually levelling out in 2012.

Estate agents despair of these reports, which they believe are already months out of date by the time they are compiled and published.

As a result of their publication, prospective buyers, who had at long last decided to get down off the fence, may once again hold off buying in the hope of further price reductions.

Needless to say, even if we had a house price index, which the Government has promised but not yet implemented, records of house sale results would probably still end up being made public at least three months in arrears and therefore would not be applicable to a fast-changing market.

Having on previous occasions tried to point out these anomalies and the detrimental effect these reports have on the property market, estate agents have given up, aware that they will be shot down by those who, understandably, believe that they are just trying to talk up the market.

They may be correct. Yet, as I write, I’m attempting to purchase a property on behalf of a client and already I’m one of three parties who have made offers well in excess of the asking price.

Might there, perhaps, be some clear sky visible in the far distance? It remains to be seen. I’ll keep you posted . . .

Printed in The Irish Times on 18.03.10