WHAT’S HAPPENING IN the world of property this week? It can be tricky to keep up with the fast-paced real estate sector, which is why we’ve created this cheat sheet of the week’s biggest stories.
So take five minutes for five news items to catch yourself up. This week, Clontarf is getting new seawater baths, and power outages caused chaos in Dublin…
After 25 years of waiting, the owner of the Clontarf Sea Baths will finally open this project to the public next week, having been granted a publican’s licence. The seawater baths – which are 132 years old – are part of a complex that’s home to two restaurants and a bar.
David Cullen, the hotelier and owner of the baths, said that his company has recruited 33 employees, who are currently undergoing on-site training in anticipation of next week’s opening. The company has totally reconstructed and refurbished the open-air seawater baths, which will take in filtered water from Dublin Bay.
Businesses and traffic in Dublin ground to a halt this week, with power outages affecting businesses in the city centre for a number of hours. The offices of Dublin City Council were among the buildings affected, along with the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield. Traffic lights were also out of use in some areas of the city.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News At One, ESB said that the fault was most likely due to works in the area. The issue was resolved within a few hours.
Edmund Honohan, High Court Master, has warned this week that the government does not have a strategy in place for the “wave of repossessions [of homes] that’s about to break”. Master Honohan has drafted a piece of legislation that would give the State greater powers to protect people who are in mortgage arrears.
Speaking to RTÉ, Honohan said that “people [are] coming into [his] court on a daily basis trying to stave off repossession”; his bill presents a more cooperative model than the one at present, one that would provide funding to acquire, manage, rent or sell distressed mortgages.
Plans for College Green Plaza rumble on, but taxi drivers aren’t happy – saying that they’ll threaten to protest if banned from the envisaged area. The plans for the Plaza would see the taxi rank at Foster Place removed entirely. Spokesman for the National Private Hire and Taxi Association Jim Waldron said that “protest would be a last resort…but taxi drivers in that area have their families to consider”.
Dublin Bus is feeling the pressure in the College Green area too: Dublin Bus has changed another ten bus routes in order to deal with city centre traffic caused by the new LUAS system.
Omniplex have snapped up the long-vacant shopping centre in Longford town, and have promised to have a world-class facility up and running in two years time. The chain, which owns a number of entertainment complexes throughout the country, intend for the centre to be a ”leisure, retail and dining experience.”
The building, located in the centre of the town, has lain vacant since opening stalled after the economic downturn, and was taken over by Nama; its takeover could provide a significant boost to Longford, which is due to see a new Centre Parcs resort open later this year.
We’re breaking down the complicated world of property jargon, one buzzword at a time. This week, it’s offers in excess of. Offers in excess of, or oieo, is used by some selling agents to imply that you will need to pay more than the amount of money advertised.
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