Examine this school premises in Cork’s education zone

A base for a school, college or other education-type use comes to market this week to let, just as tens of thousands of Irish students commence the rigours of Leaving Cert and Junior Cert exams.

Just offered by Lisney is 15,000 sq ft of adaptable-use classrooms at the former St Patrick’s Hospital/Marymount hospice complex on Cork’s Wellington Road: it’s just a kilometre from the city centre and is near St Luke’s Cross, in an area with many thousands of students, in a variety of schools and colleges.

Located in the vicinity are Scoil Mhuire, in a just-reworked series of 19th buildings on Wellington Road, CBC, Bruce and Hewitt grind schools, as well as a national school St Patrick’s on Gardiner’s Hill, and several private language schools.

The space now offered to let at €10 per sq ft, or c €150,000 pa on flexible terms, is owned by Griffith College, who acquired the former St Patrick’s hospital/Marymount complex on five acres in 2013.

It included some 70,000 sq ft of buildings and was bought for c€2m, after St Patrick’s Marymount relocated to a purpose built €55m facility at Curraheen.

Griffith, who last week announced profits of €2.5m for 2015, has over 7,000 student in Ireland, from 77 different nationalities and was founded in the 1970s in Dublin, moving to Cork and Limerick a decade ago.

In Cork, Griffith took over Skerries College on Patricks Hill, and later moved to Sullivans Quay. At the time of purchasing St Patrick’s on five acres, it said it was to accommodate growth of up to 1,000 students in Cork.

Part of the former medical use buildings (some dating back 140 years) were adapted two years ago for temporary use by St Angela’s girls’ school, as it embarked on a major rebuild of its steep, hillside set building on Patricks Hill.

The imaginatively-recreated and enlarged St Angela’s has recently been nominated both for RIAI and RIBA awards, for the design by O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects.

Also up for the coveted RIBA award is Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown (DLR) Lexicon Library, designed by Cork architects Carr Cotter & Naessens.

Now, agent Mark Kennedy of Lisney is offering 15,000 sq ft at Wellington Road in what he describes as a landmark building, part of the existing Griffin College facility which is currently surplus to their requirements.

Zoned for education use, it is three storeys over basement in a period building in excellent condition. It is laid out primarily for educational purposes with classrooms, offices, science labs and home economics room in its accommodation.

It’s offered at c €10 psf on a new lease, with an option to sub-divide.

Details: Lisney 021-4275079