Plans for new €120m ‘business district’ in Galway

Galway City Tribune – The first phase of plans for a new €120 million business district on the eastern side of the city – which will ultimately see office blocks up to eight storeys high, public plazas and a 193-bed hotel – were lodged with Galway City Council this week.

The project, which will be known as Eastgate, will see hundreds of jobs created in construction and create high-spec office space for up to 3,000 workers aimed at alleviating the chronic shortage of ‘Grade A’ office space in Galway.

It will be created on 10 acres at Bóthar na Mine in Ballybane, where the McDonogh trade centre is based – that business will not be affected until later phases, when it will move to a new location.

Pat Neville, a Director of McDonogh Capital Investments, told the Galway City Tribune: “Nothing like this exists in Galway. We are looking at attracting new entrants to the market in Galway, and there are very big companies that are interested in coming to the city, and there are also businesses that have three, four or five buildings who would like to consolidate.

“We are not speculators, we will only be building if we secure long-term tenants.”

The location is seen as prime for such a development because of its proximity to the M6 and the proposed Galway City Ring Road.

The property company, which is part of Thomas McDonogh & Sons, applied this week to Galway City Council for planning permission for Phase 1 of the project, which is valued at around €50m.
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