Barbershop and quartet of floors at investment property

4 Washington St West, Cork city

A prominent mixed-use Cork city premises with income-generating commercial space and potential for boosting rental revenue on overhead floors has come to market with a guide price of €250,000.

The investment opportunity, at No 4 Washington St West, comprises a ground-floor retail unit currently occupied by DJ A Barber, together with independently-accessed office accommodation arranged over ground, first, second, and third floors.

The ground floor barbershop — where tenants are unaffected by the sale — is fully fitted and currently generates a passing rent of €12,000 per annum under a lease agreement from April 2023, providing immediate income to an incoming purchaser.

4 Washington St West — the barbershop on the ground floor is unaffected by the sale

The overhead office space — previously used by the Mercy University Hospital — is currently vacant and “offers significant potential to increase the overall rental income through refurbishment or re-letting” according to selling agent Micheál Walsh of Savills.

The 1,375sq ft (128sq m) building, which is being sold by a private individual, is in one of Cork City’s most established commercial locations, benefitting from strong pedestrian activity and excellent connectivity between University College Cork and the city centre.

The surrounding area hosts a mix of retail, hospitality, and professional service occupiers, reinforcing the long-term appeal of the location.

Mr Walsh said the office element is “well laid out as a combination of private and open-plan offices and benefits from excellent natural light throughout”.

Additional features include carpet tile flooring, trunk cabling, security alarm and two w/c facilities, “making the accommodation suitable for a range of commercial occupiers”.

“No 4 Washington St West represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a centrally located mixed-use investment with immediate income and clear potential to enhance the overall rent roll through the occupation of the vacant office accommodation,” Mr Walsh said.

He added that No 4 was “an attractive proposition” for an investor looking for something “less hands-on than a couple of residential units”.

The Washington St premises has some historically interesting features including a rare post box that predates the foundation of the State and is the subject of a preservation order. There is also a plaque on the building which shows when it was constructed.

According to the national database of heritage buildings, No 4 dates to around 1830. The database acknowledges that the three-bay four-storey late Georgian house — with attic — has retained its scale and proportions and is architecturally significant as it forms part of the surviving terraced Georgian streetscape on Washington St West. Interestingly, the post box and the building are treated as two separate heritage assets in Cork City Council’s Record of Protected Structures.

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