Company Giants Bid for Central Park M-U Project in Dublin Worth $420M

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

A massive mixed-use project is set for expansion as a major real estate deal nears completion in the Irish capital city. Green REIT and Kennedy Wilson have reportedly outbid development company Blackstone for the Central Park complex with a fee of approximately $420 million. The two companies were recently named preferred bidders by the National Asset Management Agency. This is the largest property that NAMA has put on the market in its history. Jones Lang LaSalle and Savills are tasked with handling the sale on behalf of the national agency.

According to The Irish Times, the bid submitted by Green REIT and Kennedy Wilson was 24 percent higher than the guide price set by the asset management agency, which stood at around 250 million Euros, or about $338 million. Blackstone’s bid was just short of the $420 million mark, that same source noted. Other bidding entities were Oaktree Capital Management and Patrizia, Northwood Investors, a client of Eastdil Secured, as well as Lone Star.

Central Park already includes five office blocks, as well as a retail building, and a multi-family project with 272 residential units. The office component’s tenant roster includes mobile operator Vodafone, currently carrying out an almost $10 million a year leasing contract, as well as other high-profile companies: Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Salesforce and Tullow Oil. Central Park’s office component generates a yearly amount of $24.3 million, and that total is set to increase, after a number of rent-free deals come to an end, to more than $26 million per year.

Prospects at the site could allow for a further 700,000 square feet of office space to be developed, considering Dublin provides a healthy amount of appeal towards large banking and tech companies. Kennedy Wilson is interested in the multi-family component of the mixed-use community and will most likely look to expand the number of units in Central Park.