Irish Life submits plans for Dublin office center on former AIB site

Irish Life has submitted plans for the construction of a multi-storey office building in Dublin city center on a site last occupied by AIB.

Last week the insurance and pension company applied to Dublin City Council for permission to demolish the existing eight storey office building at 1 Adelaide Road in the heart of Dublin. It hopes to construct a new office building on the site, including a retail/cafe section and a community facility.

The planning application states that the proposed building would range in height from four storeys overlooking Albert Terrace to nine and ten storeys towards the front end of Harcourt Road / Adelaide Road.

The existing 51 above-ground car parking spaces will be reduced to 24 parking spaces, with 289 bicycle parking spaces being made available.

The office development, part of Irish Life Investment Managers’ portfolio, previously included AIB as a occupant. It is currently empty.

It comes as a report in the Irish Independent According to a key index, the value of Irish investment property fell in 2022 and the pace of decline accelerated in the last quarter of the year.

The index, MSCI/SCSI Ireland Quarterly Property Index, which monitors over €9 billion in direct Irish property assets, saw capital values ​​fall 4.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, bringing the annual rate of decline to 6.2 per cent. This quarter was also the worst quarter for capital values ​​since September 2011, according to MSCI.

The Index is recognized as the definitive monitor of the performance of the Irish commercial property market.

A spokesman for Irish Life said: “Irish Life has applied for a planning application for an office development at 1 Adelaide Road which will encompass 150,000 square feet.

“It will be an important and exciting new addition to the streetscape of Adelaide Road and the surrounding streets.

“The building has been designed to be very energy efficient, in line with Irish Life’s sustainability strategy and its journey to net zero. Irish Life is committed to investing in real estate as an ongoing, long-term strategy. We believe that high-quality real estate with strong sustainability characteristics offers attractive opportunities for investors.”