ISSUE 1 - APRIL 2021
ISSUE 1 - APRIL 2021
Paul Byrne
DUBLIN AIRPORT CENTRAL – CAPTURING THE ZEITGEIST
Lorcan Tyrell
“For Kelloggs to pick DAC was a huge bonus. Their story really validated our offering and proved that Dublin is the perfect gateway between the two continents.”
Offering 500,000 sq. ft. of high spec Grade A office space in five buildings, Phase 1 of Dublin Airport Central will go a long way to addressing a 20-year infrastructural deficit in the Fingal region. But DAC is far more than a commercial property play for the DAA.
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“We’re not competing with the southside of Dublin or even other regions of Ireland, we’re competing with Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid and London,” says Lorcan Tyrell, Head of Development at Dublin Airport Central. “Many airports around the world have positioned themselves as locations for regional and international headquarters of multinational businesses and we are elevating Ireland onto that platform.”
It’s an approach which is already proving its worth, with Irish consultancy ESB International and the US food giant Kelloggs soon to be joined there by many other large international companies – as well as Fingal Chamber. Work began in 2015 with refurbishment of the 50 year-old, 80,000 sq. ft. former Aer Lingus headquarters achieving Irelands first LEED Platinum standard for offices. This project, Block 1, became ESB International’s new headquarters the following year. The arrival of the second customer (DAC prefers to think in terms of customers rather than tenants) illustrates the vision behind the entire development. Michigan headquartered Kelloggs is a century-old business best known for breakfast cereals. But in recent years it has both diversified its offering and expanded significantly across Europe. The DAC team was aware that company, which had located in North County Dublin in 2003, had wanted to consolidate its various European administrations in one place but found this near impossible.
“We’re not just another property developer, we won’t be flipping this on to a pension fund the day after we sign a lease – we’re here for the long haul.”
“So we sold them on the idea that if you cannot put all your people under one roof, you can still provide them with a location which everyone can access with ease,” recalls Tyrell. “For such a huge multinational as Kelloggs to pick DAC was a huge bonus for us,” Byrne adds. “Their story really validated our offering and proved that Dublin is the perfect gateway between the two continents.”
Airport cities This success was no lucky accident, however. The DAC team had spent many years researching other examples of ‘airport cities’ to come up with a compelling offering. As Tyrell explains: “We’re not flying the DAC flag on our own, it’s the region that we’re selling. It’s the supply chain within Fingal and the services located here that really make this appealing.” The pitch to multinationals is further boosted by Fingal’s demographics, with the youngest and fastest growing population in Ireland and half of all the undergads at third level in the area studying STEM subjects. “This is hugely appealing to the companies we’re seeking to attract here,” Byrne says.
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
The huge campus has been designed to meet the needs of companies that want national and international connections, the right working and living environments for their staff and the space to grow. And based on the level of interest and commitments to date, DAA appears to have anticipated the zeitgeist of the post-pandemic corporate world.
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