Dwyer family brings City Life back to quays of Cork city
The owners of a family business once rooted in Cork’s historic financial heart — until the property and housing boom pushed them to the suburbs — have all but returned to their spiritual home, opening the way for a tenant to take over their lease in Bessboro.
Father and son Ted and Eamon Dwyer had shared their City Life South Mall office with auctioneers Hamilton Osborne King (now Savills Ireland) but the housing boom of the early noughties meant HOK wanted more space for expanding operations.
The upshot was HOK found them alternative space and City Life became the initial tenants of 2 Nore House, Riverview Business Park, off the Skehard Road near Blackrock, a building originally zoned for light industrial use, but rezoned for commercial.
“We moved in 2005. We were the first tenants in, followed by Dan and Linda Kiely, founders of Voxpro. There were about 20 (Voxpro) workers upstairs from us at the time, until they moved to CityGate.” (Mahon).
Voxpro, an outsourcing company and now a very major employer, was more recently acquired by Canadian call-centre giant Telus International in a deal valued at up to €150m.
City Life, a wealth management company founded by Ted Dwyer in 1971, was also taken over — by pension scheme manager Invesco. In the wake of the acquisition last year, Eamon and now retired Ted (but still advising) found themselves relocating to 6 Lapp’s Quay, back in the city centre, and within shouting distance of South Mall.
They are now looking for a tenant to take over the Nore House lease of €50,000 per annum.
Eamon Dwyer said there are four years left to the next break in the lease, and agent Sam Kingston of Casey & Kingston is acting on his behalf in assigning the lease.
Number 2 Nore House, circa 3,000 sq ft, and with a BER of C3, is described as a “high quality purpose-built ground floor office”, easily accessible from the city centre, the South Ring Road and the Jack Lynch tunnel.
Mr Dwyer said it would be ideal for an accountancy or professional services firm or even a tech firm.
It has the added bonus of a shower room — running enthusiasts like Eamon can avail of the nearby old rail line at lunchtime for that power jog.
DETAILS:
