Starwood Capital Group Acquires Elm Park Office/Residential Campus In Dublin
GREENWICH, Connecticut, Feb. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Starwood Capital Group, a leading global private investment firm, announced today that a controlled affiliate of Starwood Global Opportunity Fund X (SOF X) has acquired Elm Park, a large-scale office and residential campus in Dublin, for €190 million (approximately $210 million) from receivers Duff & Phelps.
Following the transaction, the SOF X affiliate will invest in the development and enhancement of the 17.3 acre work-live campus, which comprises 17.3 acres and 750,000 square feet of space. To help drive this effort, Starwood Capital Group is partnering with leading developer Chartered Land, which will oversee development of the eight-story, 174,000 square foot Pioneer Building—located prominently at the front of the campus, and featuring magnificent views of Dublin Bay—into a top-quality commercial office asset.
Elm Park also includes two fully occupied office blocks, two blocks of multifamily housing totalling 332 units, a café, a day care facility and a leisure center. The property has won numerous awards for its striking design and its environmental credentials, which include a sophisticated onsite energy centre. Elm Park is well-served with public transportation links, and enjoys easy access to the city center, Port Tunnel, Dublin Airport and M50.
Planned improvements to Elm Park will include upgrading the leisure center, enhancing landscaping and adding facilities to boost amenities throughout the campus. The process of renovating and repositioning the property is expected to be completed in just over one year.
"We are making a major investment in Elm Park because we believe the asset has exceptional promise," said Adam Shah, Senior Vice President of Starwood Capital Group. "Given its scope and scale, the quality of its existing assets and the prospects for significant enhancement through strategic development, we expect to create a world-class work-live environment at Elm Park. When repositioned over the next 12 months, Elm Park will feature modern, architecturally striking office buildings and apartments, complemented by a lush, landscaped campus with best-in-class amenities ideally located in South Dublin. We are delighted to partner with Chartered Land to deliver on Elm Park's full potential."
"Elm Park is an award-winning scheme but in need of major investment and repositioning," added Andrew Gunne, Chief Executive of Chartered Land. "The fact that tenants such as Allianz, Novartis, Willis and Wipro have located here underscores its appeal to large, international corporate occupiers. Given the attractive location adjacent to the Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Belfield and Blackrock areas, our renovations should elevate Elm Park to compete favorably with the very best new developments for years to come."
Starwood Capital Group has established itself as a major, long-term investor in the Irish property market. A controlled affiliate of the Firm is in the midst of developing sites at the Windmill Lane property in Dublin in a joint venture with Hibernia REIT to deliver approximately 120,000 square feet of Grade A office space. In 2013, Starwood Capital Group via a controlled affiliate acquired the Aspen non-performing loan portfolio comprising 39 commercial properties, and has implemented a number of asset management initiatives across this portfolio, including redeveloping several of the assets. In 2015, another Starwood Capital Group affiliate acquired a 610,000 square foot Class A office and residential portfolio in Ireland's largest direct real estate transaction of the year.
Starwood Capital Group
Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with a core focus on global real estate. Headquartered in Greenwich, CT, the Firm maintains 10 offices in four countries around the world, and currently has more than 2,000 employees. Starwood Capital Group has raised more than $33 billion of equity capital since its inception in 1991, and currently manages over $45 billion in assets. The Firm has invested in virtually every category of real estate on a global basis, opportunistically shifting asset classes, geographies and positions in the capital stack as it perceives risk-reward dynamics to be evolving. Over the past 25 years, Starwood Capital Group and its affiliates have successfully executed an investment strategy that involves building enterprises around real estate portfolios in both the private and public markets. Additional information can be found at starwoodcapital.com.
Chartered Land
Established in 1996, Chartered Land is one of Ireland's leading retail and commercial property development and investment companies. It has initiated, developed and asset managed some of the best-known high-quality developments in the Greater Dublin Area, including Dundrum Town Centre, The Swords Pavilions, The ILAC Shopping Centre, Grand Canal Square and South King Street. It is currently developing a 6.8 acre site in Ballsbridge ("The Berkeley Court / Jurys Site") comprising 490 apartments, a hotel and retail and leisure outlets. Elm Park is the latest high-profile project with which Chartered Land is involved.
Share this article