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FRESH FROM THE news that Apple are building an €850 million facility in Athenry, Co. Galway, rivals Microsoft have announced plans to build a new €134 million 35,000 square-metre campus of their own in Leopardstown, south Co. Dublin.
The facility will bring all 1,200 of the tech giant’s Irish employees under the one roof for the first time in recent history. Currently the company’s offices are split between three buildings in Sandyford and Leopardstown.
The construction of the mammoth new building should create 150 jobs.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny expressed his satisfaction with the announcement, suggesting the news is “truly significant”.
Microsoft’s Dublin operation is home to a number of the company’s European and global teams. It also became the site of their first data centre outside the US, much as Apple’s Athenry complex will be theirs.
Managing director of Microsoft Ireland Cathriona Hallahan described the new facility as “a fitting and appropriate commitment to Ireland to celebrate our 30th anniversary here”.
We’ve grown from a small manufacturing facility to what we are today, and this new home for our team here underpins our commitment to Ireland.
Currently Microsoft’s main building in Sandyford follows the ‘work hard, play hard’ aesthetic (initially popularised by Google and now something of a must for social media and tech companies), with staff distractions such as Xboxes and table football the order of the day.
The new building will be no different with Microsoft planning to showcase its latest technology ‘in every aspect of the building’s design’.
The new campus will be ‘located in a wooded setting’ at the back of Leopardstown racecourse.
Together with a running and walking trail around the perimeter of the site, the building will feature rooftop terraces overlooking the Dublin mountains.
The entire move should be completed by late 2017.
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Yahoo opened a new office next to the Gibson hotel in the docklands. Dublin seems to be booming again. Good news for the country.
They were actually already in the east point business park, just move across the road really. Verizon are opening a new global procurement centre in East Point, looking to hire 180 people.
Why is this building so low rise? have DCC learned nothing?
I read they’re keeping the office at East Point. The new office block at the Point is to house these 200 new jobs. The company is relocating most of its business to Dublin from London.
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/item/31957-yahoo-to-create-more-than
The first comment no this article was as expected, a negative sniping one, typical of the ‘knocking’ culture in Ireland.
This one always comes to mind. “The Irish don’t know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death to get it.”
I like knockers.
Me too. But only nice knockers ;)
Only a Shinner type dimwit is unhappy with good news. They are a depressing lot.
I’m a Sinn Fein supporter and I welcome this. As we’ve seen recently Sinn Fein are the best of all parties at persuading Americans to part with their money. Is that what we need in Ireland Inc?
There was another article about large companies not coming to Dublin due to lack of office space. With Microsoft vacating 3 buildings this could alleviate some of that problem, admittedly the sites are not city centre but do have good connections into town.
They are likely already let out. Not much high quality space like that available.
What needs to happen is for the offices Cherrywood to get built quicker. It’s 5 minutes further down the M50, directly onto the N11 into town, has two luas stops and it’s not far from nice housing like Foxrock or Dalkey.
That site has been bought so hopefully some move towards the end of the year…..also plans for up to three thousand (hopefully reasonably priced) houses!
Hope on scottie! Reasonably priced houses in Ireland? Lol! There is a ton more room for development in Sandyford and Stillorgan business parks, the buildings Microsoft are leaving are large high quality ones, they’ll be let in no time. There is plenty of room left for apartment development in Sandyford too. It really was a great facility they built around the beacon. Lived there for 18 months. Every shop you need on your doorstep, excellent transport, decent quality construction, energy efficient apartments. Pity there wasn’t more built like it at the time. A very sustainable development. There’s shop for that area still though. As with cherry wood. The luas makes all the difference to these places. Great news from Microsoft. Great for the country, a vote of confidence to invest so much.
We can but hope! I work in the area and agree…sandyford has most of what u need but it always feels like a ghost town after office hours up there….a sort of concrete jungle with no atmosphere. Site opposite the south quarter has recently been bought, down from microsofts current place…so plenty of potential for res units there!
Well done Microsoft, IDA and Ireland. A great vote of confidence in the competence of the Irish.
Always good to see job creation. But will multinationals bring decent paying jobs? Will these jobs stop brain drain of Irish graduates?
I have enjoyed how the name of Sandyford industrial estate has changed to become more fashionable over the years.
Is it a innovation park now?
Decent place for a business though, a proper cluster of companies in the area, excellent transport links, decent public transport and lots of nice houses nearby. Bit dull as a place to live but that’s about the worst of it.
I wonder how many new jobs and opportunities Enda has to announce and get his picture in until people start thinking that he’s actually doing a very good job?
This was announced already, last year.
If anyone works in the area, things are going to get interesting with this & the redevelopment of the roundabout junction at Leopardstown road/Brewery Road!
I thought it was handled well with the Luas bridge. The traffic isn’t as bad as it used to be.
Is it done?
(I haven’t worked there for a few months)
The roundabout will be removed and replaced by a box junction.
Not before time Business Cat. They did add a little side road near Bewley, down the back of woodies that brings you to the business Park when coming from the m50 roundabout, that cuts out the need to go down to the leopardstown RA, but last time I was using it frequently people didn’t seem to know about it and we’re using the RA still. It takes a good few mins out of it at peak times tbh.
Great, more people paying taxes, to fund my welfare benefits!
Cool. Seventy five construction jobs per annum for two years. Any chance of a national holiday?
Sheik,
By there very nature construction jobs tend not to be forever, once the building is finished so are the jobs.
There’s one of those the week after next.
Sheik has a valid point. This isn’t going to create long term employment in the IT sector.
Best not bother then.
Sorry Microsoft, build your office somewhere else!
Isn’t it better than nothing?
@Sheik Yahbouti,
Most of those construction jobs will be done by Eastern Europeans, working for a pittance.
This building is horrible. They have cut down lots of the trees that boarder the Leopardstown race course grounds making a nice park-like area thar bit more concrete
Christ… Is there anything yee wont p!ss & moan about!
Sinead,
“This building is horrible”
Ht building they haven’t even dug the foundations yet.
Well it will have windows i guess ?
That was so bad it was good…
This was made public over 6 months ago.
http://www.thejournal.ie/microsoft-go-ahead-dun-laoghaire-campus-1606576-Aug2014/
Anyway it’s very good news to see them making a commitment like this!
It’s only going to create temporary employment in the building trade.
Yes how true, and it is a solid investment in the permanent Jobs already in place.
So temporary jobs now.
Job security for those currently at Microsoft.
And a good signal to other companies that Ireland is a place they choose to invest in.
There jobs were never at risk.
Microsoft has been here already for years.
Dell was here for years. Also, is there such a thing as a permanent construction job?
Every job in construction is temporary. You can’t build something forever.
Dont tell “Bob” that
Great news. The only pity is to see all these IT companies out on greenfield sites when it would be much better to have them all close together in high rise office buildings.
Every job announcement the FG fan boys start to congratulate themselves,why do you have to type it when you can just reach across the desk and lick each other’s balls .
Epdc-5 was supposed to be the consolidated building for the atrium 12 years. Things quickly grew beyond that plan keeping the atrium in use. Also Google did not coin the work hard play hard tech attitude. Plenty of companies did that here long before Google even existed.
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