Apple move to Cork quays may boost office space demand in  city's docklands renewal campus centre

Next? plans for whole new South Docks site of over 30 acres by O'Callaghan Properties are advancing behind-the-scenes, likely to see a phase one planning application during  2021

New dawn: Apple's arrival into Cork's north quays taking an initial 35,000-40,000 sq ft will boost docklands renewal and activity in both the north and south quaysPic; Larry Cummins

OFFICE space demands in Cork city after this pandemic year are likely to be boosted by the arrival of tech monolith Apple to new offices in the burgeoning docklands campus.

Up to one million square feet of offices are being delivered on Cork's north and south quays, as confidence reasserts itself in the future of the office/work environment globally, and locally.

And, in Cork, behind-the-scene plans are being advanced for a whole new South Docks site by O'Callaghan Properties, as Cork's docklands delivery becomes a reality after the last recession's slump.

The changing face of Cork, with the new Dean  Hotel, and offices developments on Horgan's Quay, behind the Elysian against the Northside of Cork City

News of Apple's commitment to take up to 40,000 sq ft of offices at the HQ/Horgans Quay development by Clarendon Properties and BAM, the north quays next to Kent rail station broke in this newspaper earlier this week. The company, which already employs a staggering 6,000 in Cork at its EMEA HQ in Hollyhill, where it has invested €220m in its main one million sq ft suburban campus there, and at Half Moon Street in an O'Callaghan Properties'-developed office/retail building next to the Opera House. 

This month Apple committed to Horgan's Quay, having started 2020 initially with a hunt for a larger,  100,000 sq ft in the city's emerging business/tech hub, balancing options for early occupation at OCP's Navigation Square, and at BAM/Clarendon's Horgan's Quay/HQ's mixed-use scheme.

Scaling back its needs right now to c 40,000 sq ft  due to Covid-19's immediate impact, Apple is taking the top three floors of HQ's Building One, a 90,000 sq ft block next to the Dean Hotel and already part-occupied by serviced office provider Spaces with 30,000 sq ft on lower floors in the eight-story building and which will have people at desks shortly once Covid-19  restrictions lift.

While no parties to the secured deal would comment, it's understood they have taken the floors at No 1 with an option to expand, including possibly into some of the former goods shed, which the 90,00 sq ft building is integrated into, and cantilevered out over its south-facing limestone and river-facing facade. The design, by O'Mahony Pike, allows for the construction of the larger c 160,000 sq ft Building No 2, which will attach to No 1's eastern flank.

The Horgan's Quay scheme also envisaged 325 apartments on the six-acre site, prompting hopes that Apple's presence may help fund the residential element.

It's done the deal on a relatively short lease with a break option after a few years and rents sought by letting agents Savills and Cushman & Wakefield were c €32 psf.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for O'Callaghan Properties — who had been in advanced discussions to land Apple as a tenant since last year — said "the Apple decision, and the reported Amazon interest in office accommodation in the city, for example, are very positive and confirm the attractiveness of Cork as a location for inward investment."

OCP's Navigation Square development, the city's largest offices project to-date, with 310,000 sq ft, marginally larger than HQ and anchored by Clearstream, added "the docklands will be key to unlocking the city’s potential in this regard and in facilitating a strong economic recovery, post Covid19,” the spokesperson added.

And, it's understood that significant progress is being made on OCP’s planning application due later this year for the first phase of new development in the South Docks, on a 32-acre block, to include the R&H Hall building and Gouldings site, acquired in 2019 from Origin Enterprises.