'Rare Opportunity' To Buy South Docklands PRS Block For €52.5M

A 72-unit rented residential apartment block at 76 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay has been put on the market for €52.5M.

Due for completion in Q1 2020, the Benson Building is being sold by Savills and Owen Reilly on behalf of Targeted Investment Opportunities, or TIO, a joint venture between Oaktree Capital Management, Nama and Bennett Construction.

TIO is also developing a 75K SF office building on the Sir John Rogerson’s Quay site.

Included in the apartment block are 14 one-bed, 44 two-bed and 14 three-bed units, ranging in size from around 550 SF to 1,200 SF. The agents said the current estimated rental value for the apartments is around €2.9M per annum, or an average of €3,300 per unit per month.

The 11-storey over basement building will also have two ground floor retail units —expected to generate a further €100K per year, a private residents’ recreation room, a concierge foyer and secure underground parking for 72 cars.

According to the agents, the south docklands had over 2.6M SF of purpose-built office accommodation — capacity for 20,000 workers — at the end of Q1 and 2,500 units of residential accommodation. They said that while the pipeline of new office space in the area could accommodate more than 11,000 employees, just 665 new residential units are currently in pre-planning, planning or construction. 

Savills Investment Director Fergus O’Farrell said the Benson Building presents a rare opportunity to buy one of only a few PRS schemes in the docklands.

And there is likely to be plenty of interest from a range of local and international investors.

Earlier in the summer, Carysfort Capital agreed to buy nearby Six Hanover Quay — a 120-unit apartment block being built by Cairn Homes — for €101M. It was previously reported that Ires Reit, Patrizia, Hines and Kennedy Wilson were in the running to buy the building. These parties are expected to be interested in the Benson Building.

Round Hill Capital, which has just opened a Dublin office and has €1B to spend on residential and student schemes, is also likely to take a look.

In recent weeks, TIO sold a site on North Wall Quay with planning permission for a 241-unit aparthotel to SACO Property Group.