Irish Arts Review

ALTO VETRO TOWER WINS MAJOR AWARD

This year's Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design International Architecture Awards, billed as 'the most important barometer for the future direction of new architectural design and thinking today' included two recent residential projects in Dublin - one that emphasises the vertical and one that plays with the horizontal.

The buildings in question are Alto Vetro tower on Grand Canal Quay, a spectacular 16-storey glass goliath designed for Treasury Holdings by Shay Cleary Architects and the Elm Park complex on Merrion Road by Bucholz McEvoy Architects for Radora Developments Ltd. The delicately proportioned and beautifully detailed Alto Vetro tower is 16 storey glazed mixed use development.

Elm Park is interesting in the use of the site's microclimate for ventilation as the long, narrow buildings are oriented on a north-south axis to take advantage of those westerly winds. The awards are co-presented by the Chicago Anthenaeum and the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design, and Urban Studies with this year's winners being chosen from hundreds of submissions by an all-Finnish jury. The Athenaeum described this year's award winners as 'a Who's Who in international architecture practice today'. 

Construction and Property News

Ballymun Town Centre Gets Go-ahead

Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has secured full planning permission for the €800m regeneration of Ballymun Town Centre in north Dublin.

At 255,000 square metres, Spring Cross, as the new development will be known, is reputed to be the largest mixed-use town centre permission that has ever been granted in Ireland. The scheme includes 360 apartments, 60,000 square metres of retail, 35,000 square metres of offices and 11,000 square metres of other uses, including an 11 screen cinema, bowling alley, public library, creche and restaurants.

REO, which is 67% owned by Treasury Holdings, expect that about 2,000 jobs will be generated during the construction phase which will get underway in 12 months' time if the company can pre-let the facility and secure funding for the building costs. Treasury hopes that Tesco, which has an ageing supermarket in the area, will agree to be an anchor tenant in the new facility. The development is expected to cost up to €400m to construct and that will be done in nine or 10 phases with the shopping centre and leisure blocks development first.

Financial Times

Developers scale back Battersea plans

The redevelopment of Battersea Power Station has moved a step closer with the submission of the largest ever planning application in central London.

Treasury Holdings, the developers of the south London landmark, is  proposing a £5.5bn regeneration scheme, which includes more than 1.7m sq ft of new buildings. The latest proposals mark a scaling back of previous plans for the 40-acre site, that had included a  glass chimney above  the derelict power  station,  after  a lengthy period  of consultation.

The latest  incarnation of the project, which includes 3,700 homes, 1.6m sq ft of office space and 500,000 sq ft of  retail and  restaurant space, was registered with Wandsworth  council at the weekend. It  is  owned by Real Estate  Opportunities, the  listed property  company.

The site stopped operating as an electricity station in 1983, and has since been the centre of numerous attempts to  create ambitious property schemes, given its size and location on the bank of the Thames.

Previous  plans  have included an indoor theme park, an upmarket retail mall and, most recently, an environmentally friendly office and  hotel scheme topped  with a towering glass  chimney  that would have also have  served as a means of power generation.

Environmental  responsibility was still at the heart of the latest development, Treasury Holdings said.   Rob Tincknell, Managing Director, said: "We are extremely confident  that two years of detailed discussions mean that this masterplan represents the aspirations and concerns of all the Stakeholders involved, not least the Battersea community.

"At its heart will be the power station, giving new life for generations to come and standing as a commanding reminder of London's industrial  past and thrilling future." Treasury Holdings also said it was continuing to develop plans for a proposed extension of the Northern Line from Kennington to two new stations at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station.

Boris  Johnson, Mayor of London, said: "In principle, I support the extension of the Northern Line into Nine Elms and have included it in my recently published transport strategy." Nearby Nine Elms is the proposed location for a new US embassy costing £500m, outline plans for which have been approved by Wandsworth council. 

Daily Telegraph

Developers Submit new Battersea Plans

The largest ever planning application in central London will be submitted today when Ireland's Real Estate Opportunities and Treasury Holdings unveils a radical blueprint for the long- heralded redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. The London landmark on the south bank of the Thames - famous as the subject of a Pink Floyd album cover - may be turned into flats, shops, offices and restaurants as part of a £5.5bn redevelopment submitted to Wandsworth council. The building's four white chimneys and two turbine halls would be restored as part of plans by architect Rafael Vinoly, who is known for designing the Curve Theatre in Leicester. The power station has not been in use since 1983 and has stood empty. The proposed development would include 3,700 homes, 1.6m sq ft of office space, 700,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants, a hotel and community facilities. The plans would help to regenerate one of the last remaining derelict areas along the river. There have been some concerns that the plans are too ambitious. Some property experts have said that the credit crisis could create obstacles, although Boris Johnson, London Mayor, has indicated that he is ready to support "in principle" an extension of the Northern Line underground line to the power station. The extension would provide a vital transport link Battersea is one of the only areas in central London that does not have its own Tube station. The Nine Elms region of Battersea, where the station is situated, will soon become the new home of the American embassy.

Evening Standard   

Power Station finally set for a facelift

After more than 30 years and numerous abandoned renovation plans, Battersea Power Station may finally be getting its facelift.

Developers today submitted an official application for planning permission to turn the site into a £5.5 billion residential complex.

The proposals would see 3,70O homes built alongside offices, shops and restaurants on the 40-acre site.

The scheme, by Irish developers Treasury Holdings, also includes a riverside park and an extension to the Riverside Walk connecting through to Battersea Park.
Public access would be given to restored areas, such as the two turbine halls and control rooms. In return, the developers have pledged to save the power station
itself, which is listed Grade II*, and create a "low-carbon environment".
Wandsworth council leader Edward Lister said: "Everyone wants to see the power station restored and the whole site developed to provide new homes and jobs."

The developers are encouraged that there has been progress in the planning of an extension of the Northern line from Kennington to two new stations at Nine Elms and
Battersea Power Station. The plans are crucial to the new homes proposed, as the area has no Tube line. Mayor Boris Johnson supports the extension "in principle" but  there is no current prospect of it being funded by TfL. The station closed as a power plant on 17 March 1975. Proposals for its use have included a theme park, in 1983, and a shopping mall in 1997.

Sunday Telegraph

£5.5bn plan for Power Station-Blueprint for London Landmark could boost cities economy with 15,000 jobs writes Graham Ruddick

A £5.5bn planning application, the largest ever in central London, will be made tomorrow when Ireland's Real Estate Opportunities and Treasury Holdings reveal their blueprint for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station.Plans for the mixed commercial and residential site, which developers say will be as ironically significant as the Sydney Opera House and the Guggenheim in Bilbao, will be formally submitted to Wandsworth Council with influential backing from key London power brokers.

The power station, one of London's most recognisable landmarks, stopped producing electricity in 1983 and has been virtually derelict for many years. Various attempts to redevelop the Grade-11 listed building including plans for a theme park, have failed, with the global financial crisis posing the latest threat.

Plans last year from Real Estate Opportunities, the owner, and Treasury Holdings, the developer, included a 1,000 ft glass eco-tower and were rejected before a formal application was made.

However, the new mixed-used plans have helped to develop a growing enthusiasm for the potential of the Nine Elms region, which is also the site of the new American embassy. The development will include 3,700 homes, 1.6m sq ft of offices, 700,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants, a conference centre, hotel, a potential for 15,000 new jobs and a zero-carbon power station.

Councilor Edward Lister, the leader of Wandsworth Council, said: "Everyone wants to see the power station restored and the whole site developed to provide new homes and jobs."

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has indicated he is ready to support, "in principle", a vital extension of the Northern Line to the power station by including it in his latest transport strategy.

The planning application is the largest ever made in central London, spanning 8.3m sq ft of floor space and costing £5.5bn. However, there are concerns that it is too ambitious and that the financial crisis could condemn Battersea to another doomed vision. As one analyst said: "This is very speculative for this environment."

In August, REO warned that there were "material uncertainties" about its ability to continue as a going concern, with debts and covenants needing to be rolled over with the company's assets of £1.78bn outweighed by its liabilities of £1.87bn. However, Rob Tincknell, the managing director of Treasury Holdings UK and the man leading the project, told The Sunday Telegraph that the developer's expertise in large-scale projects will allow it to cope with the financial burdens better than its predecessors at Battersea. "We have 10 projects over 2.5m sq ft of space in various different parts of the globe,"he said. "We have never sold any of our commercial assets. The only thing that we have ever sold was at the top of the market in Ireland, when we sold several large residential sites that we had acquired. We saw the market was topping out and it was time to exit."

The Treasury boss says REO and Treasury, which owns 66pc of REO, are "not in breach of any covenant on any loan". The owner's aspirations is to turn Battersea Power Station into a cultural hub for London, attracting leading creative industry companies as office tenants, universities to use the facilities, and exhibitions for the remodeled turbine halls.
"I think that the power station has the ability to be a cultural icon for London in the way the Guggenheim is for Bilbao and The Sydney Opera House is for Sydney. Mr Tincknell said "Ambitious, but possible."

However, demand for business space and rental values have tumbled and a narrow focus risks excluding potentially valuable tenants in other industries, such as financial services. Mr Tincknell disagrees. He said he has already had offers from blue-chip businesses that could potentially be anchor tenants. "Our message to the doubters is: If in doubt, come and see," he said.

Irish Times

Treasury hopes to begin work on Ballymun Town Centre within year

IRISH DEVELOPER Treasury Holdings said yesterday that it hopes to begin work on the first phase of the Ballymun Town Centre regeneration in 12 months time if it can pre-let the facility and secure funding of €40 to €50 million for the building costs. This will involve the construction of a shopping centre and possibly, some leisure facilities, including a cinema. Treasury hopes that Tesco, which has an ageing supermarket in the area, will agree to be an anchor tenant in the new facility. Niall Kavanagh, the Treasury executive in charge of the Spring Cross scheme in Ballymun, told The Irish Times that his immediate focus is to secure tenants on a pre-let  basis for the shopping centre. "Once we have the prelets, and given the quality of the scheme, I think the funding will follow," he said. Treasury yesterday secured full planning permission for Ballymun Town Centre, which will have a construction cost of €400 million and comprise 255,000sq m of apartments, retail,  leisure  and civic facilities.

The site covers 15 acres. The land is owned by  Dublin  City Council but Treasury has a  long leasehold on the current outdated shopping centre. Treasury secured the permission on behalf of  Real  Estate Opportunities (REO), an associate listed on stock markets in Dublin, London and the Channel Islands.  It is not clear if Treasury will be able to secure funding for the project given the  global credit crunch and the recession here. The Ballymun project is also tipped to be transferred to Nama, the state agency charged with managing bank toxic loans. 

In its interim results for the first six months of this year, REO said it had total borrowings of £1.6 billion at the end of June and revealed that it had breached covenants on a loan of £226 million.  The value of its portfolio fell by 15 per cent in the period to just over £1.6 billion and there was a deficit on consolidated shareholders equity of £88 million. In spite of this, the directors said they had a "reasonable expectation" that REO would be able to "meet its liabilities as they fall due for at least 12 months".

Mr Kavanagh declined to comment on REO's financial standing but said talks with banks in relation to Ballymun were under way. "We have relationships  with all the major funders," he added. Ciaran Murray, managing director of Ballymun Regeneration Limited, the entity charged by Dublin City Council to manage the masterplan  for the suburb, acknowledged that there  are potential financing issues. "The funding of it in the present climate will be difficult but the fact that there are opportunities to develop parts of it [at a time] will help," he said.

Mr Murray said the proposed Metro North rail link would boost the town centre project.  In relation to the construction of 360 apartments, Mr Murray said that "realistically, that would be a slow process" given the decline in the residential market.

Irish Daily STAR

SUBURB WILL GET 2,000 NEW JOBS

A TOP development firm is to create 2,000 construction jobs in ambitious regeneration plans for a once-deprived Dublin suburb.  The €800 million project in Ballymun is the largest of its kind ever accepted by planners and includes shops, apartments  and offices centred around the  planned Metro line.  However, developers have  effectively opted to remove the Ballymun name from the  shopping complex — which  will be called Spring Cross. Tower The area, once famed for its  run-down tower blocks, has  been transformed in recent  years with the development of new homes, Ireland's first Ikea  store and plans for Metro  North.  Niall Kavanagh, head of the  Spring Cross project at  Treasury Holdings, said it  would become the capital of  north Dublin,

"Together with the opening of Ikea, we see the future of  Ballymun as a destination for  shoppers," he insisted.  "Not only shoppers from the  Dublin region, but from all  over Ireland — which will also  benefit the local community,"  he added.  "It will create 2,000 construction jobs and, on completion,  support 8,500 direct and indirect jobs.  "We are confident that we can 'commence construction in 2010," said Mr Kavanagh. The entire development will cover 255,000 sq m with more than 20 per cent of the floor area dedicated to shops. There will also be 360 apartments, offices and substantial leisure amenities including cinemas, bowling alleys, a public library and restaurants. Giant Developing giant Treasury Holdings, also behind London's Battersea Power Station site, applied for permission on behalf of Real Estate Opportunities (REO). REO chairman Ray Homey said the Ballymun regeneration was their flagship project.

"This important achievement demonstrates the quality of both REO's development portfolio and the ability of its management to create value," he said. "This project is a flagship in the company's Irish portfolio and we are confident we can commence construction in 2010."

REO said it was in an advanced stages of negotiations with key anchor tenants. UP AND COMING: Artist's impression of how Spring Cross project In Ballymun, Co Dublin might look.

Irish Examiner

Revamp project for  Ballymun to create 2,000 jobs, says firm

A LEADING development company claimed yesterday  that it would  create 2,000 construction  jobs next  year in ambitious regeneration plans  for a once-deprived Dublin suburb.

The €800 million project  in Ballymu  the largest of its kind planners have accepted includes shops, apartments and offices centred  over  the planned Metro line. The scheme effectively removes the Ballymun name from the shopping complex with developers opting instead for Spring Cross.

The area, once famed for its tower blocks, has been transformed in recent years with new homes, Ireland's first Ikea store and plans for Metro North. Niall Kavanagh, head of the Spring Cross project at Treasury Holdings, said it would become the capital of north Dublin. "Together with the opening of Ikea, we see the future of Ballymun as a destination for shoppers, not only from the Dublin region, but from all over Ireland which will also benefit the local community," he said. "It will create 2,000 construction jobs and, on completion, support 8,500 direct and indirect  jobs.  We are confident that we can commence construction in 2010." The entire development will   cover  255,000sgm with more than a fifth dedicated  to  shops,   while there  will  also  be  360 apartments,  offices   and substantial  leisure  amenities  including  cinemas, bowling  alleys,  a public library and restaurants. Developing giant Treasury Holdings,  which is behind the Battersea  Power Station site in London, applied  for   permission on behalf of Real Estate Opportunities (REO).  

Ray   Horney, REO chairman, said the Ballymun regeneratio  was the  company's flagship project.
"This important achievement demonstrates the quality of both REO's development portfolio and  the ability of its management to create value," he said.

"This project is a flagship in the company's Irish portfolio and we are confident we can commence construction in 2010." REO said it was in advanced stages of negotiations with key anchor tenants."

Evening Herald

10,000 jobs on way in Ballymun project

MORE than 10,000 jobs could be created with the construction of the Ballymun Town Centre, it was predicted today. Investment company, Treasury Holdings, said that the green light has been given for the construction of the €800m town centre. The group, who are the Irish property investment manager for and majority shareholder of Real Estate Opportunities (REO), have said that 2,000 construction jobs will be created by the project which will begin next year. A further 8,500 direct and indirect jobs will be established once the shopping centre is open.

Despite the downturn in the economy, Treasury Holdings said that they are eager to press on with the impressive development and that the Spring Cross development represents the largest mixed use town centre permission that has ever been granted in Ireland. It's expected that it will take three years to complete construction of the development which includes 360 apartments, 60,000 square metres of retail and 35,000 square metres of offices. An additional 11,000 square metres of civic buildings with cinemas, bowling alleys, a public library and restaurants have also been included. It's planned that a Metro station will be integrated into the town centre at basement level, which will mean that there will be 15 minutes travel time to and from the city centre. This will link up with the Luas net- work and city interconnector, and the centre is within 10 minutes reach of the Airport as well as 2,000 parking spaces.

Architects' Journal

Battersea Power Station to get rooftop pool and tennis court

Leisure facilities now feature in the plans for the long-awaited redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, which site owners Real Estate Opportunities (REO) say will be submitted to planning officers in the coming weeks

The revised plans for the regeneration of Battersea Power Station include a rooftop swimming pool and tennis courts, according to Robert Tincknell of REO. Residents will benefit from the facilities, which will be the equivalent to a private residents’ club.

Over the next few weeks the planning application - which includes 60,000m² of office space, 32,500m² of retail space, 154 luxury residential apartments, a conference centre and cultural and creative industry workshops – will be submitted to Wandsworth Borough Council.

Tincknell describes the future centre as a ‘multi mixed-use scheme’.

He added that the redevelopment of the power station was an ‘enormous challenge’ and explained how the varied nature of the project would be beneficial. ‘A mix of use provides a viable use for the building, a blend of uses ensures its viability not only today but also its viability in the future’.

Also included in architect Rafael Vinoly’s plans is a post-graduate centre for art colleges around the country housed in the station’s turbine halls. These massive spaces – equal in size to the turbine halls at the Tate Modern – are intended to be transformed into vast exhibition centres, open to the public.

Work on the project is not expected to start until 2012, with completion predicted in 2020.

Irish Construction Magazine  

Slipforming helps Treasury Holdings get to 15 storeys in 20 days at
Grand Canal

The construction team at one of Dublin's tallest buildings at Grand Canal Dock took just four and a half weeks to get to the necessary 15 storeys with the help of  concrete slipforming, according to the project team last month.

"Construction was 4 and half weeks and part of that was finishing and preparing so essentially 20 days top to bottom. They were roughly doing three and half metres of lift per day," said Derek Nolan, director of development at Treasury Holdings. "It took three weeks to put the slipform together and it will take another two weeks to dismantle it- this is the platform they base the whole thing around which lifts itself up around the core." As of last month the construction partnership between Sisk and Treasury have completed out the central core, checking every line and level due to the extreme tolerances in terms of its vertical line. The slipforming process also allows them to self-correct as they go.

The team consisted of 12 steel fixers and a foreman, 12 carpenters and a foreman, an operator and an engineer for the slipform jacking and then five concrete crew for the pouring and 4 concrete finishers who follow on and make sure everything is to spec. The speed and teamwork on the slipforming has brought a new focus to the whole project, says Nolan. "It's a great motivator to have a technique like this on site because it really does raise the bar in terms of the other trades - the steelwork, the slabs. It's brings a performance element to proceedings and we're looking for the same elsewhere." At a management level there are 4 setting out and supervision engineers, he adds.

Although the slipforming technique is relatively new to Ireland, Nolan believes there will be an increasing number of opportunities for its use as taller buildings in tight inner-
city sites become a reality. "It has to be a fairly simple building, it could be multiple cores but it has to be fairly simple plan layout and the height. There are a number of taller buildings — nothing like Canary Wharf or New York standards — hopefully there will be opportunities in the future to take advantage of taller buildings perhaps in the Docklands. Generally the bigger contractors here are up to speed (on new processes), its just a case of them being able to put them into play if the opportunities are there."

Financial Times

Power dressing Battersea's makeover

New plans for the troubled Battersea power station site in London, unveiled yesterday (above), display long stratified blocks snakthg round the lumbering brick structure and giving definition to courtyards, parks and access routes,writes Edwin Heathcote, Architecture Critic.

These new blocks will contain 31700 homes and 1.5m sq ft of offices. Real Estate Opportunities, the developer, and Rafael Vinoly, the New York-based architect, have presented a more commercial proposal than the vast 300m glass eco-chimney that lay at the heart of their first attempts at redesigning the site a year ago. The new plans for the £4bn development retain the power station's shell, surrounding it with reflecting pools and filling it with a dense mix of office, leisure, retail and residential accommodation.

Even in its latest incarnation, this remains a vast scheme. The 38-acre riverside site in south-west  London represents an extraordinary opportunity that has gone unfulfilled since it stopped generating electricity in 1983. It seemed blighted by inaccessibility, toxic land and the inhibiting presence of the decaying but protected industrial monument at its centre. Yet with serious plans afoot for a £460m Northern line underground extension passing through the site, the relocation of the US embassy nearby and regeneration plans for the "Nine Elms Corridor", the area finally looks a solid, commercial proposition.

The architect has gone for broad curves and loose landscaping to counter the disparate character of the surroundings, which have everything from clunky social housing to small-scale domesticity, enormous gas holders and the Victorian brick railway arches that cut through the district.

The blocks are expressed as a series of horizontal strata - their facades broken up by crinkly profiles. While the plans are less obviously visionary than the previous proposal, only the presence of Giles Gilbert Scott's monument to power makes these buildings look modest. Designed to reach only to the shoulders of the power station, at their highest they still climb to 17 storeys. The architects have sought to alleviate their mass with a six-acre riverside park and wide open public space.

Irish Independent

Plan for London power station site sealed back
Treasury says overall Battersea scheme will be the same

TREASURY Holdings has made significant changes to its plans for its €4.5bn redevelopment of the Battersea Power Station, a key south London landmark site. The developer has scaled back the amount of office space from an initial plan for 2.5 million square feet to 1.5 milion
and previous proposals for a 250-metre eco chimney have also been dropped. However, a spokesman for Treasury's publicly quoted vehicle, Real Estate Opportunities (REO), says the overall scheme will remain the same in terms of its development space with more residential, retail and leisure space being provided.

Controlled by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, the firm submitted a masterplan for the project yesterday and if approved, work on the scheme would start late next year and be completed by 2020. 

The latest proposals now include around 3,700 homes as well as a six-acre riverside park, a hospital, a hotel and a market square. The redesign would also enable construction work and sales to be undertaken in five phases which would also facilitate cash flow should market recovery prove slow. The first two-year phase will focus on a 600 apartment terrace. The initial phases will also include restoration of the, currently derelict, art decolandmark power station which will be transformed into a carbon neutral building run on bio-fuel and converted into offices, shops, restaurants and homes as well as a 2,000-seat auditorium for conferences and concerts, the scheme now envisages a green roof and residential apartments topping off Giles Gilbert Scott's iconic Grade II power station, with a series of medium-rise stepped terraces on either side. Around 600,000sq ft of offices will be developed in the top six storeys of the station, offering 80,000sq ft floorplates.

Adjoining buildings have a maximum height of 67m, level with the shoulder of the base of the famous chimneys which remain intact. Mr Tincknell also indicated that the company would not need to raise development finance until 2011 and that REO had already received expressions of interest from sovereign wealth funds enquiring about investing.  Although the company wrote down the value of the site at the end of December by .doom to C440m, this is still comfortably above the debt on the site as the site purchase was financed with only around £150mofdebt. The development also includes extending the Northern Line to the site by 2015 the first privately funded extension of the Tube.

The scheme will be developed in five phases, with the first two-year phase focusing on a 600 apartment terrace and restoration of the station. Work will then begin on redeveloping  the station, which, it is proposed, would be ready for occupation by the time the Tube opens in 2015. The plans are due to be submitted to Wandsworth council in July.

Property Week

Real Estate Opportunities has revealed its final masterplan proposal for Battersea Power Station

The AIM-listed property company, which is 67% owned by Irish developer Treasury Holdings, has drawn up a scheme which will no longer have an eco dome or chimney.

It will instead focus on creating a more permeable, lower scheme that does not obstruct views from Westminster and has multiple entry points and pedestrian access routes.

The new proposal will see only 42.5% of the 15.5ha site developed. The power station’s redevelopment to create office, conference, retail and residential space will account for 35% of the 42.5% and will be a ‘viable project in its own right’.

The remaining buildings, including a 600,000 sq ft office building, will be designed in a John Nash-style curved terraced formation that form a ‘halo’ around the power station.

Overall the scheme will comprise 3,700 homes, 1.5m sq ft of office space, 500,000 sq ft of retail space, and a hotel, restaurants, leisure space and community facilities. The plans no longer include a 2,000 seat amphitheatre.

Rob Tincknell, Treasury Holdings UK managing director, said: ‘It has taken 18 months of consultation and talking to people but we think we have cracked it.’

He said that there was still a ‘tremendous amount of work to be done’ not least of which is financing the scheme which it estimates will cost £4bn to develop. This figure excludes the £460m cost of developing the new station and northern line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station which requires a further.

‘It needs to generate a lot of revenue to make it work (...) and it has to be of an appropriate density. It will cost £4bn to develop so it is the same situation as before but there has obviously been a rather significant change ot the market since then,’ said Tincknell. ‘We have responded to that in a number of ways. The eco dome and chimney were very expensive structures to create and in some ways we were welcoming of the policy and legislation protecting Westminster views as it is saved the scheme quite a lot of money.

‘We have maximised the more profitable uses on the site. It is much more simple now and much more phaseable. Before we had to build some quite big chunks all in one go but now it’s more efficient and more affordable.’

Tincknell said it was not actively looking for bank finance now ‘which is a good thing for us’ and it will not need to do so until the beginning of 2011. He said it intended to look for a major equity partner to help fund the scheme and said it had a significant amount of interest from a range of parties including sovereign wealth funds.

He said: ‘If you create a viable project you will get development finance. We are also looking for a long-term equity partner at some point in the future and we have a lot of interest and we are just talking to people and giving them introductions [to the scheme] and keeping them interested.’

He said the site, which was last valued on 31 December 2008 at £440m down from £540m, does not hold a lot of debt at the site purchase was financed with only around £150m of debt. The site is due to be revalued again this month.

Funding the station, which will also require parliamentary approval, will be the most difficult element and Tincknell said it is looking at a range of options but one more advanced option is a mix of a Nine Elms Opportunity Area development levy and an incremental finance and revenue share from the operation of the extension itself in conjunction with Transport for London.

Tincknell said the new transport node is essential to the area, including proposed developments which are nearer to Vauxhall Station than the power station.

‘Vauxhall is at capacity so it is as simple as that,’ said Tincknell. ‘Nothing can be done to increase capacity on the Victoria Line, whereas the Northern line split can create an additional 30% capacity.

‘It comes down to do people want Nine Elms to be a parochial low-density residential enclave or a whole new district for London like Potzdamer Platz created a whole new district for Berlin. That is the opportunity here.’

BATTERSEA POWER STATION TIMELINE

July 2009 – planning application submitted
Mid to end 2010 – application before Wandsworth planning committee
June 2011 – Dec 2013 – Phase 1/Power Station development begins
Mid 2014 – Power station opens
Mid 2014 – 2020 – remainder of development carried out
2012 – 2015 - Northern Line extension work completed.
The latest version of the masterplan follows collaboration with Wandsworth Council, mayor of London Boris Johnson, the Greater London Authority, English Heritage, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), Transport for London and the local community.

REO puts evolved masterplan for Battersea Power Station site on public show

Progress at Battersea

The owner of the Battersea Power Station site, Real Estate Opportunities Limited, has launched a second public exhibition for local residents to view Rafael Vinoly’s advanced masterplan for the site from today, Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th June.  It is a year since the first public exhibition, which was attended by 15,000 people, and since then the masterplan has evolved to take account of many comments received.

The masterplan has moved forward in close collaboration with Wandsworth Council, the local community, the Mayor and Greater London Authority, English Heritage, CABE, Transport for London and numerous other organisations.  The project team, led by Treasury Holdings Group, is grateful to everyone for their contribution to the evolution of the plans for this major regeneration site.

The revised masterplan meets all of REO’s key objectives for the project:

• it creates a great new place and active district for London and Wandsworth;
• it plays a major part in the delivery of improved public transport in Nine Elms through an extension to the Underground network in South West London;
• it is a viable plan for bringing the historic and much loved power station building back to life to make a 21st century contribution to London, a quarter of a century after it stopped generating electricity;
• and it ensures a low carbon development, with the plans for the power station itself achieving zero carbon status. 
  

Rafael Vinoly’s revised plans ensure that no other building on the site will be taller than the shoulders of the power station, and make sure that the power station remains a dramatic centrepiece of the scheme, particularly in views from around the site and from across the River Thames.

The power station’s iconic and powerful presence on the site is also accentuated by reflecting pools surrounding the building. This creates space to stand back and appreciate the art deco structure, which will itself be converted into offices, shops, restaurants and homes. 

The masterplan includes around 3,700 new homes, 1.5 million sqft of office floorspace, 500,000 sqft of retail, restaurants, a hotel, leisure space and community facilities. It is this mix of uses that is essential to delivering an active place that will bring life to the area.  Around 16,500 new jobs will be created within the completed development, along with thousands of construction jobs.  Many of the job opportunities will be available to local people.

The scheme will also act as a catalyst to the regeneration of the Nine Elms area, which will be greatly enhanced by the plans to extend the Northern Line from Kennington through to Battersea Power Station. Over the past year, significant progress on the private funding of the Northern Line Extension has been made through working alongside Transport for London and London Underground, and we are grateful to all parties for their encouragement in bringing this scheme forward

Rob Tincknell, Managing Director of Treasury Holdings UK, said, “After two years of consultation, we are confident that we have the right scheme for this crucially important regeneration. Our plans will create a fantastic new place, will restore the status of the power station as a place of glory and will deliver new homes and much needed jobs in a highly sustainable project.  We are working tirelessly with Transport for London to secure the Northern Line Extension to Nine Elms, which is essential to achieve the high density redevelopment of the area. At the new exhibition, we look forward to speaking with the local community and listening to their views before we submit our application.”

The exhibition will be held on the Power Station site. The exhibition opening times are:
Thursday 4th June: 1200 to 2000hrs
Friday 5th June: 1000 to 1800hrs

Irish Independent

Plan for London power station site sealed back

TREASURY Holdings has made significant changes to its plans for its €4.5bn redevelopment of the Battersea Power Station, a key south London landmark site. The developer has scaled back the amount of office space from an initial plan for 2.5 million square feet to 1.5 milion and previous proposals for a 250-metre eco chimney have also been dropped. However, a spokesman for Treasury's publicly quoted vehicle, Real Estate Opportunities (REO), says the overall scheme will remain the same in terms of its development space with more residential, retail and leisure space being provided.

Controlled by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, the firm submitted a masterplan for the project yesterday and if approved, work on the scheme would start late next year and be completed by 2020. 

The latest proposals now include around 3,700 homes as well as a six-acre riverside park, a hospital, a hotel and a market square. The redesign would also enable construction work and sales to be undertaken in five phases which would also facilitate cash flow should market recovery prove slow. The first two-year phase will focus on a 600 apartment terrace. The initial phases will also include restoration of the, currently derelict, art decolandmark power station which will be transformed into a carbon neutral building run on bio-fuel and converted into offices, shops, restaurants and homes as well as a 2,000-seat auditorium for conferences and concerts, the scheme now envisages a green roof and residential apartments topping off Giles Gilbert Scott's iconic Grade II power station, with a series of medium-rise stepped terraces on either side. Around 600,000sq ft of offices will be developed in the top six storeys of the station, offering 80,000sq ft floorplates.

Adjoining buildings have a maximum height of 67m, level with the shoulder of the base of the famous chimneys which remain intact. Mr Tincknell also indicated that the company would not need to raise development finance until 2011 and that REO had already received expressions of interest from sovereign wealth funds enquiring about investing.  Although the company wrote down the value of the site at the end of December by .doom to C440m, this is still comfortably above the debt on the site as the site purchase was financed with only around £150mofdebt. The development also includes extending the Northern Line to the site by 2015 the first privately funded extension of the Tube.

The scheme will be developed in five phases, with the first two-year phase focusing on a 600 apartment terrace and restoration of the station. Work will then begin on redeveloping  the station, which, it is proposed, would be ready for occupation by the time the Tube opens in 2015. The plans are due to be submitted to Wandsworth council in July.

Sunday Business Post

HWBC complete lettings at Stillorgan centre

Commercial property firm HWBC has completed two lettings at the Stillorgan Shopping Centre in south Co Dublin. Elvery's Sports and O'Farrell School Wear have taken leases at the 13,500 square metre shopping centre just off the Nil.

The agent handled the lease of a 430 square metre unit to Elvery's Sports. The sports retailer will occupy the former Lifestyle Sports outlet, a double-fronted two-storey unit positioned opposite Arnotts and Dunnes Stores.

Irish Times

15-storey block rises from the docks

Montevetro, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 4: office block with 19,509sq m (210,000sq ft) of space 15-storey block rises from the docks

THE CORE of one of Dublin's tallest office blocks has started to go up at a rate of three storeys a week  in the Grand Canal Dock area of the city. The 15-storey building, Montevetro, will eventually stand 57 metres above the dock, offering uninterrupted views
over much of the docklands area. Treasury Holdings is spending €148 million on the office scheme which will be integrated into the Dart station at Grand Canal Dock.

It will  have a floor area of 19,509sqm  (210,000sq ft) with the average floor offering l,579sqm  (17,000sq ft).  Three penthouse floors will each have 650sq m (7,000sq ft) of space.  Apart from direct access to the Dart, the building will have up to 80 car-parking spaces over three basement levels. There will also be parking for bicycles and motorcycles. Derek Nolan of Treasury Holdings said the radical design of the office building will provide column-free floor space and a flow of natural  light.  The 11th  floor, 50 metres above ground, will also have a  south-facing  garden terrace, on a fifth of an acre, from which there will be views of Howth Head and across Dublin Bay to the Dublin mountains. Nolan said they were noticing the popularity of the Grand Canal Dock area among the new media companies, evidenced by Google's decision to  locate  there.  "We believe that this is down to its central location, its accessibility and transport links and  its  array of trendy bars and restaurants."   HT Meagher O'Reilly and Jones Lang LaSalle will be the joint letting agents.

Irish Construction Industry Magazine

Spring in Bloom

Some 2,000 construction jobs are to be created in Dublin this year after the final piece in the €800 million Spring Cross  Ballymun  regeneration programme gets the go-ahead.  Developers Treasury Holdings said work would start on the 5,9 hectare site in North Dublin  in 2009. It is expected that 8,500 direct and indirect jobs will be created once complete in 2012. 

The new  town  centre will  comprise  over 60,000nr of retail  space, 28,000m:  of  office space and  over 11,000m:' of leisure facilities. The development, which will be home to 40,000 people  when complete, will be called the Spring Cross, Ballymun Town  Centre.

London Evening Standard

A towering opportunity to regenerate this backwater

RICHARD Barrett is sitting in a Knightsbridge restaurant enthusing about Battersea and in particular the Nine Elms corridor, sweeping past New Covent Garden Market and down to the iconic power station. "It has evolved from a few things happening to becoming the biggest regeneration project in London,'" he says. "It is three times the size of Stratford and four times the size of Canary Wharf.

"If you were a Martian flying over London and looking within the boundary of the GLA area you would look at Chelsea, Knightsbridge and the other expensive sites. And at Battersea - and you'd never guess which is the one that isn't developed. That Battersea is -undeveloped runs contrary to all the tenets of urban generation. It's less than two miles from Parliament and directly opposite Chelsea."

Barrett has cause to make an argument for Battersea. Together with his business partner, Johnny Ronan, he owns Treasury Holdings, the company that wants to redevelop the power station. Treasury has come up with a £4.5 billion scheme to restore the Grade II* listed industrial landmark. He also knows about ambitious grand building projects.

Established in Dublin in 1989 by school-friends Ronan and Barrett, Treasury has become the biggest commercial property builder in Ireland. They have swept everything before them as they have rebuilt large swathes of the Dublin docks and Irish capital.

They have expanded overseas, to Russia and China, where Treasury has become the largest foreign developer in that vast country. Along the way, the duo, it almost goes without saying, have made themselves fabulously wealthy. Treasury now controls more than 120 individual real estate projects with a combined value in excess of €4.8 billion. The gross development value of all its schemes is €20 billion. Ronan and Barrett have also become feared throughout the property world. In Ireland, they are treated as business royalty - the bearded ex-accountant Ronan, who has a penchant for black (his clothes are usually black, as is his car), and the dapper former barrister Barrett. Part of their reputation is built on their aggression and fierce will to succeed, plus their refusal to talk to the press - Ronan never gives interviews, while Barrett also prefers to stay out of the public eye.

Now they are set to be extremely well-known in London. This is a first for them in several ways. Despite their success, they have never taken on anything as high profile as Battersea. Neither have they been involved with a proposal that is so fraught with controversy. Indeed, it is perhaps a measure of the unfamiliar, delicately poised minefield they now find themselves negotiating that Barrett has agreed to break his habit and to talk to the press.

In 2007, they bought the Battersea site for £400 million from developers the Hwang family. Six months ago, they unveiled their idea. At its heart was a 984ft glass tower designed by renowned Uruguayan architect Rafael Vinoly.

The structure was shaped like a giant chimney or funnel - a tower with a giant skirt at its base. Air would be sucked in at the bottom and, as it heated up, rise through the building. This "ecodome" would enclose 2.5 million square feet of office space but, thanks to the natural air-conditioning, the energy bills would be cut by up to two-thirds.

After a consultation exercise involving 15,000 people - "the largest ever seen in the UK for a project of this sort," says Barrett - and taking in the views of the heritage lobby, they have lopped 164ft off the original height, cut its diameter from 104ft to 82ft and moved it 100 yards away from the power station. The amount of office space has also been reduced - by half, down to 1.25 million square feet. The power station would be a retail and hotel complex. But under the revised plan, they have added a performance arena, ballroom, primary school and medical centre.

Will it be enough? They've seen the Mayor, Boris Johnson, and his planning team, led by the deputy mayor, Sir Simon Milton. They are hopeful of winning approval but the outcome is far from definite.

The problem is that their chimney, even in its trimmed state, is still visible from the bridges around Westminster and according to the London management policy drawn up by the previous mayor, Ken Livingstone, no building should be allowed to encroach upon the view west of the Houses of Parliament.

While Barrett makes a passionate plea for the "green" credentials of the skyscraper, and while there is no doubting the breathtaking statement in Vinoly's vision, the rules are clear. Treasury has to hope that Johnson ignores them and gives the go-ahead.

Irish Times

Retail and leisure centre gets go-ahead under Ballymun regeneration scheme

THE PROPOSED €800 million development of a retail complex in Ballymun Town Centre has been granted full planning permission by Dublin City Council.

The development, part of the Ballymun  regeneration  programme, will comprise more than 60,000sq m of retail  space, 28,000sq m of office space and 11,000sq m of leisure facilities. It will include an 11-screen cinema, a bowling alley, a family entertainment centre and a child drop-in centre, according to developers Treasury Holdings.

The company yesterday said the Spring Cross development would generate 2,000 jobs during construction, due to begin in 2009, and a further 8,500 jobs on completion in 2012.

Niall Kavanagh, Director of Development at Treasury Holdings Ireland, said: "We recognise how important the regeneration of Ballymun is to Dublin city and are delighted with today's announcement as it means we can now move forward with the project."

The development is based on a sustainable open street scheme conducive to community and a positive retail experience, he added.

New €800m Ballymun Town Centre Approved

The final piece in Ballymun Regeneration programme gets go-ahead Friday 19th December 2008. Treasury Holdings, the leading international property company, has today been granted planning permission to develop Spring Cross, Ballymun Town Centre, an €800 million mixed use development in the heart of the Ballymun regeneration area in North Dublin.   It is hoped that construction will start in 2009 during which time 2,000 jobs will be generated.  It is expected that 8,500 direct and indirect jobs will be created once complete in 2012.

Mr. Niall Kavanagh, Director of Development at Treasury Holdings Ireland said, “We recognise how important the regeneration of Ballymun is to Dublin City and are delighted with today’s announcement as it means we can now move forward with the project. Regeneration projects are key in challenging times like these, for any economy. Ballymun today has existing and growing catchments with shopping, employment and leisure needs that desperately need to be met. A lot of hard work has gone into planning this development and we look forward to delivering the much needed quality shopping, leisure facilities and civic amenities for local residents.”

“This is an attractive development and there has been strong retailer interest, even before we secured planning permission.  This is due to the unique nature of the new town which will be home to 40,000 people when complete.  There are a number of factors attracting interest including the developments strategic location in the heart of north Dublin, its accessibility to the airport, the Capital and major motorways as well as the metro stop which will be integrated into the development. The presence of IKEA, which will be only a short distance away, is also a prime attractor for many retailers.”

“The design of the development is based on a sustainable open street scheme which is conducive to community living and a positive retail experience.  This is the final piece in the Ballymun regeneration programme and it will become the focal point for the local community,” he concluded.

The new town centre will be based on a 5.9 hectare site and will comprise over 60,000 sq.m of retail space, 28,000 sq.m of office space and over 11,000 sq.m of leisure facilities including an 11 screen cinema, bowling alley, family entertainment centre and a child drop in centre.

Complementing 367 residential units will be; state-of-the-art civic amenities, a public library, child friendly amenities, along with car parking spaces and cycle spaces in the new town centre. There will be a new Civic Square at the heart of the scheme which will cater for a host of new restaurants and cafes and a large leisure and cinema complex which will overlook this new public space.

The development is strategically located in the heart of north Dublin and has easy access to the rail network, the airport, Dublin City Centre and the M50, M1 and M2 motorways. It is at the heart of the economic corridor between Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre, while a Metro stop on the new Metro North line will also be integrated into the development.  The station will provide access to the City Centre in 15 minutes and to Dublin Airport in 10 minutes.  In addition the town centre will only be a short walk from the only IKEA store in the Republic of Ireland which is expected to attract 2 million visitors per annum.

Treasury Holdings has been a pioneer in the property sector, both in Ireland and internationally, identifying and capitalising on emerging trends across the globe. The company’s portfolio includes state of the art residential, commercial, retail and leisure developments in Ireland, the UK, London, Russia and China. The company has been responsible for landmark developments including the largest urban regeneration in Ireland at Spencer Dock, and the country’s first Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Powerscourt, Co.Wicklow.

UK Press Release

Battersea Power Station design evolves

The latest details of the design for preserving the iconic Battersea Power Station and creating a unique carbon neutral development were announced today. Treasury Holdings UK has responded to the results of the largest public consultation ever conducted in the UK on a development project. The scheme has evolved since the masterplan was launched in June 2008 and the formal planning application is still due to be submitted in Spring 2009.

Rob Tincknell, Managing Director of Treasury Holdings UK, development manager for the owners Real Estate Opportunities Limited ("REO"), a London listed property company, said:
"We are creating a new heart for the Nine Elms area which is the single largest development site in central London and our scheme has evolved after listening and responding to the views of our key stakeholders and more than 15,000 visitors to our public exhibition. Nearly 70 per cent of respondents were supportive of our masterplan which is almost unprecedented in a public consultation exercise. We have heard what people like and what some did not like. We have maintained the overall concept but adjusted the mix and location of buildings to respond to urban design issues and to reflect the views of the public and our stakeholders."

Included in the latest scheme is the world’s first carbon neutral performing arts amphitheatre for 2,000 people beneath the landmark Eco-Dome, which creates a naturally ventilated environment for the 1.3 million square feet of international quality office space. It is anticipated that a resident orchestra or theatre company will be attracted to this unique covered outdoor venue.

There was overwhelming support from the public for the concept of delivering a carbon neutral development on the site. This will be delivered by the Eco-Dome under a transparent glass Chimney which draws air up through a campus of high quality naturally ventilated office buildings, and by a CCHP Energy Centre beneath the Power Station.

The frontage of the development on Battersea Park Road has been re-designed to make it more accessible and tie it into the local neighbourhood. The Eco-Dome has been relocated on the site nearer to the Thames and reduced in size and massing.

The height of the Chimney has been reduced to 250m in response to the technical requirements of a smaller Eco-Dome, to improve its appearance and to address concerns about its impact on views over the Houses of Parliament. The new Chimney is located in the shadow of the Victoria Tower from the majority of the view locations, and will read as a secondary form in the remaining views. The new design will ensure that the Chimney will be a stunning addition to London’s skyline and will be a symbol of the UK’s commitment to addressing the effects of climate change.

A new luxury hotel inside the refurbished power station will incorporate one of the largest ballrooms in London with a capacity for 2,000 guests. Other additions to the development, since the masterplan was announced in June, include a primary school, nursery, large health centre and a community centre.

When completed, the development will be home to around 7,000 people and up to 13,000 new jobs will be created. 3,500 homes will be built on the site and 2,500 jobs will be created during the construction phase. It is planned that construction work will start in 2012 and the development will be completed by 2020 – depending on the speed of the planning process.

Rob Tincknell said:
"The Eco-Dome and the Chimney will be a symbol of London and the UK’s commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change and will act as a signpost for the regenerated area of Nine Elms.

"We are very excited by our plans for the new amphitheatre where, under the cover of the Eco-Dome, 2,000 visitors will be able to watch performances sitting outdoors on natural grass while protected from the weather.

"The mix and scale of the development is a reflection of views expressed during intensive consultations over the last six months. We are also very pleased that the US Embassy is considering locating to Nine Elms and we have taken this into account when adjusting the mix of the development.

"Over the last 12 months we have, in conjunction with Transport for London, conducted a series of studies into our proposal to extend the Tube to Battersea which all demonstrate that the extension is extremely viable, fundable and a very sensible solution to the transport problems of the area."

Treasury Holdings has today lodged a planning application to develop ‘Ballymun Town Centre’, an €800 million mixed use development in the heart of the Ballymun regeneration area in North Dublin.   The proposed new town centre on a 5.9 hectare site will be the final piece in the completion of the Ballymun regeneration programme and the centrepiece of a new town with a projected population of 40,000 people.

Mr. Niall Kavanagh, Director of Development at Treasury Holdings Ireland said, “This is the culmination of years of consultation and hard work with the community, Ballymun Regeneration Ltd. and Dublin City Council. We are delighted to have come this far and we expect that we can complete the development by 2012.”

“The Ballymun area has changed dramatically over the past few years. The publication of the Ballymun Regeneration Completion Report, the opening of the new IKEA store in 2009 and the confirmation of the Metro north project with a station at Ballymun, together, provide an ideal environment for the progression of this development.”

“A significant number of jobs will also be created through this development and these will greatly benefit the local community. 2,000 jobs will be generated during the construction phase and 8,500 direct and indirect jobs will be created once complete.”

 “The Ballymun Town Centre scheme has been designed as a truly sustainable open streets scheme which will become a focal point for the local community. It will provide much needed quality shopping and leisure facilities, and dramatically enhance the range of services for local residents. There will be a new Civic Square at the heart of the scheme which will cater for a host of new restaurants and cafes and a large leisure and cinema complex which will overlook this new public space,” he concluded.

The development is strategically located in the heart of north Dublin and has easy access to the rail network, the airport, Dublin City Centre and the M50, M1 and M2 motorways. It is at the heart of the economic corridor between Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre, while a Metro stop on the new Metro North line will also be integrated into the development.  The station will provide access to the City Centre in 15 minutes and to Dublin Airport in 10 minutes.  In addition the town centre will only be a short distance from the only IKEA store in the Republic of Ireland which is expected to attract 2 million visitors per annum.

The proposed development will comprise over 60,000 sq.m of retail space, 27,883 sq.m of office space and over 11,000 sq.m of leisure facilities including an 11 screen cinema, bowling alley, family entertainment centre and a child drop in centre.

Complementing 367 residential units will be; state-of-the-art civic amenities, a public library, child friendly amenities, along with car parking spaces and cycle spaces in the new town centre.

Treasury Holdings has been a pioneer in the property sector, both in Ireland and internationally, identifying and capitalising on emerging trends across the globe. The company’s portfolio includes state of the art residential, commercial, retail and leisure developments in Ireland, the UK, London, Russia and China.

The company has been responsible for landmark developments including the largest urban regeneration in Ireland at Spencer Dock, and the country’s first Ritz Carlton Hotel in Powerscourt, Co.Wicklow.

Real Estate Opportunities Limited (“REO”), a London listed property company, today launched its new vision and masterplan for Battersea Power Station.

The iconic Battersea Power Station is to be brought back to life in the most advanced sustainable development ever to be built in this country.

Click here for full details

Irish Times Property

Top rents for top-end penthouses in docklands

AT €10,000 a month the penthouses in the Alto Vetro residential tower are among the most expensive apartments in Dublin. Treasury Holdings' 16-storey apartment tower, at the corner of Pearse Street and Grand Canal Basin in Dublin 2, has elevations made entirely from glass. Developer Treasury Holdings has pulled out all the stops to create a chic city pad. Apartments range in size from 79sq m (850sq ft) to 232sq m (2,500sq ft) and come complete with custom-made furniture. Style at this level doesn't come cheap and selling agent Sherry FitzGerald is looking for rents ranging from €2,250 to €3,000 for  two-bed units. At the top end are two three-bedroom triplex penthouses with roof gardens which are quoting  €8,000-€10,000 - making them among the most expensive rented apartments in the city, competing only with the likes of the two-bedroom apartments at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Treasury Holdings says interest has been strong since the advertising boards went up last week and a deal has been struck on two apartments. The building doesn't have parking on site but it is available at an extra cost close by, according to a spokeswoman for the developer.