Commercial Property

Donal Buckley: Turning empty offices into student blocks could be a win-win solution

Converting vacant office blocks to residential use has been considered but revamping older buildings for use as student accommodation might be a better option

Scape student accommodation in Dublin 2 close to the Royal College of Surgeons: on the market for more than €80 million

Ireland’s student accommodation sector is expected to be one of the markets to benefit from a stabilisation in both interest rates and construction cost inflation. Already the market is underpinned by student demand as reflected in Higher Education Authority (HEA) estimates that 75,640 student beds would be required by 2024 (stet).

But supply is well short of that figure and according to the latest report from Mitchell McDermott property consultants, only 1,500 to 2,000 beds ...