JCD and BAM make major property moves in Cork city

Cork city’s evolving property landscape has seen two significant shifts with the purchase of Half Moon St by John Cleary Developments (JCD), alongside revised plans for BAM’s former tax office site on Sullivan’s Quay.

Cork-headquartered JCD acquired the Half Moon St development from global property investment firm Kennedy Wilson in an off-market deal for a sum in the region of €30m, and it has already commenced a €5m upgrade of its office space.

“The upgrade works will make the building best in class, and enhance the occupier experience,” a spokesperson for JCD said. “Our existing portfolio of offices is currently fully occupied, and we see limited supply of grade A office space available in the city centre.”

Meanwhile, BAM is due to lodge a planning application for new student accommodation at Sullivan’s Quay. This comes after it allowed consent for a hotel and offices to lapse.

While BAM declined to comment on its revised plans, JCD said it was “delighted to confirm the acquisition of the Half Moon building, which is located on a prime riverside site in the heart of the city centre”.

The building — previously occupied in part by tech giant Apple — includes an unused 20,000sq ft basement, with JCD currently in discussions with a number of interested parties regarding its potential use.

JCD said it was suitable for a “variety of retail, leisure, or art uses”.

JCD has already agreed to the letting of one floor of the building’s 54,000sq ft of office space, while “detailed discussions” are ongoing with prospective occupiers for the remaining floors.

The first tenants are expected to take up occupation by mid-April.

To date, JCD has completed 1.25m sq ft of office space in Cork.

The Half Moon St building, originally developed by O’Callaghan Properties (OCP), extends to more than 115,000sq ft and comprises a mix of retail and office space.

Existing tenants, unaffected by the sale, include Boots’ Cork flagship shop, Matthews outdoor wear specialists, Koppers hair salon, and MDM Solicitors.

Vendors Kennedy Wilson acquired it from OCP in 2019 for €36.3m.