Dublin’s 50-year-old Aer Lingus headquarters building is to get a “gold standard” upgrade according to plans announced by the city’s airport authority.
Fingal County Council is expected to approve the multi-million Euro regeneration of the state airline’s landmark six-storey office block, aimed at attracting international companies to the two-and-a-half acre site next to Ireland’s busiest airport.
Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has refused to say exactly how much the scheme will cost, but confirmed a contractor would be appointed early next year with the refurbished block accepting new tenants by spring of 2016.
The current building has a floor area of 116,600 sq ft. Included in the plans is the demolition of a single-storey ground floor office annex which would lose around 27,000 sq ft from that total.
Originally built in 1964, the airline office has long been viewed as outdated and suffering from poor environmental performance. “This contrasts poorly with the improved aesthetic quality of the airport environment exemplified by the recently-developed Terminal Two,” commented one local planner.
A DAA spokesman said the upgraded block would be an LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — certified facility offering “gold standard” space to around 600 staff. A third more than the Aer Lingus workforce.
“It will be designed to facilitate both single and multi-let tenants,” he added. “We would expect strong interest given the location at the heart of Dublin Airport with excellent links to the motorway network and to the city centre.”
In a cost cutting exercise, Aer Lingus agreed terms with the DAA in 2011 to vacate the building and move its headquarters to Hangar Six at the airport. As part of the deal the authority paid the airline €22.1m (£17.2m) plus interest to surrender the office. Included in that payment was €11.6m (£9m) spread over 10 years and made up of credits for certain fees and rents the airline is due to pay the airport operator.
News of the office venture comes less than 24 hours after Dublin Airport Authority confirmed it is likely to see its profits jump 12 per cent to €180m (£141m) this year on the back of the improved Irish economy.
