Hardwicke in 19m canal development

Kestrel House, Clanwilliam Place: to be redeveloped for a new seven-storey block with a glass faade and an internal floor area of 4,738sq m (51,000sq ft). Photograph: Eric Luke

office building at Clanwilliam Place in Dublin 2. Mr Kavanagh is also believed to be looking at a number of other potential projects.

The new seven-storey block with a glass faade and an internal floor area of 4,738sq m (51,000sq ft) will be more than three times larger than Kestrel House, a 1980s building overlooking the Grand Canal, which is to be demolished to make way for the new 19 million block. Kestrel House was bought in an off-market deal from quantity surveyors Bruce Shaw Partnership for around 10 million.

Hardwicke has formed a partnership with Ardstone Capital, an independent investment management company, to get construction under way this summer with the intention of having the building ready for occupation towards the end of 2016.

Hardwickes reappearance on the construction front will be widely welcomed at a time when there are relatively few development companies with the resources or the necessary experience to embark on major office projects.

There are already fears that a shortage of new office space in the Dublin area later this year could hamper direct investment.

John Moran, managing director agents JLL who will be the letting agents for the Clanwilliam Place building, said it would be Hardwickes first development in Ireland since they completed 2 Burlington Road in 2001. It was successfully let to the EBS.

The Kestrel House deal is an example of a new feature in the Irish market where local developers are being used as a delivery platform for overseas capital, in this case from Ardstone/CBRE investors. This is a welcome development, matching local construction skills with overseas equity, and helping to deliver both offices and residential units where there are currently acute supply shortages.

Donal ONeill of Ardstone said they were delighted to be working with Hardwicke, a developer whose reputation and experience were widely respected. It is the right time in the Dublin office market cycle to deliver grade-A office properties to suit the occupational needs of tenants seeking city centre accommodation.

Brian Owens, the Hardwicke chief executive, said that along with Ardstone and a first-class design team they would be bringing forward another Hardwicke building which would help alleviate the obvious pent up demand for prime office space in Dublins central business district.

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Hardwicke in 19m canal development