The Independent reports that Property developer Brookvale Trust has kicked off a €25m development in Limerick in what is being described as the first major office development in the county since the boom.

The office developer has commenced the third phase of its successful Hamilton House development at the National Technology Park in Plassey, Co Limerick.

The new four storey office building, which has been designed by Thomson Architects, has commenced construction and is due for completion in July 2015.

The development will provide a what Brookvale are calling a “landmark” office building of about 40,000 sq ft with on-site car parking. About half of the development has been pre-let to a a foreign multinational..

Phase three Hamilton House is the first privately developed office block to commence construction by a developer in Limerick since before the crash.

Brookvale said it decided to go ahead with the construction due to a demand for large scale office accommodation in the National Technology Park.

In recent years Brookvale have secured tenants such as E-Net, Northern Trust, Cook Medical, QAD, Thomson Reuters, DTS and Gilt Groupe into the Hamilton House developments.

Phase three of the development will bring the total accommodation within the Hamilton House scheme to over 140,000 sq. feet.

Brookvale have recently been granted a notification of planning permission for the development of a further office block of 55,000 sq feet.

That would take development levels to almost 200,000 sq ft, making it one of the biggest developments in Limerick.

“Phases three and four of the development will represent an investment of approximately €25m into the local market and represents a major investment in the commercial property market in the Mid-West Region,” said the company.

Power & Associates commercial property consultants and chartered surveyors are acting as letting agent for the development.

They claim there is a “strong demand for quality office accommodation at the National Technology Park”.

“The park’s proximity to UL and the M7 make the location attractive for a host of multi-national companies in the technology, ICT, Financial Services and software industries which are located in Limerick,” the agents added.

The development is likely to be welcomed give the shortage of suitable office space across the country at present, with few new builds occurring.  Source: Sunday Independent