Cosgrave Timeline
Explore Cosgrave Developments Since 1979
Building A Reputation
Cosgrave Property Group have established a very strong reputation throughout Ireland for the quality of both their residential and commercial developments. The projects undertaken by them to date have been distinguished by the achievement of exceptional standards of design, construction, finishes and landscaping. Their attention to detail has been widely praised and is one of the reasons for the success of their developments and for the above average capital appreciation enjoyed by purchasers of their houses and apartments. Their houses and apartments, when they come up for re-sale, are often referred to as ‘a Cosgrave built home’ which is the ultimate accolade.
The core Cosgrave Group strengths are; their team of key people, the selection of well located sites, their expertise in providing a product that meets market demand and their ability to optimise the potential from each site. They are very conscious of appropriate phasing of each development and they work well with their professional design teams. They have been very successful in both the commercial and residential sectors.
Cosgrave Property Group have proved over the past four decades that they have the ability to adapt quickly and successfully to changing market conditions. Examples of this include in The Sweepstakes a pioneering development in 1991 and in 1992 when there was a currency crisis and a General Election, Cosgrave’s successfully launched their development of 172 apartments at Custom Hall, in Dublin City Centre. They achieved significant sales at a time when the property market was in some difficulty. Also, in the years 1998 to 2001, when the measures to discourage investors from the residential property market were introduced by the Bacon Report. Cosgrave’s successfully sold three major Dublin developments; St. James’s Wood on the South Circular Road, Hampton Square on the Navan Road and Derrynane Square on Dorset Street.
The first major award came in 1989 when Chesterfield in Castleknock won The House of the Year Award sponsored by Irish Independent and Royal Life. Cosgrave’s have since been the recipients of many awards, including the overall SEA Ireland in both 2013 and 2016, the only housebuilder to receive the award, there have been numerous other awards for excellence in Design, Community Benefit, Planning, Sustainability as well as a number of awards too for their advertising/marketing campaigns.The developments honoured were Chesterfield, Howth Lodge, Eden Gate, Lansdowne Gate, Honeypark, Cualanor, and Bracken Park, They were also voted Developer of the Year in 2007.
The Group have been early adopters of and remain to the fore of sustainable construction methods and building design. As part of this initiative they travelled to Sweden, Denmark and Germany to research the methods used in these countries over the past decades. They are incorporating the latest in energy efficiency technology into their developments.
They received accreditation from Sustainable Energy Ireland in 2006 for their Lansdowne Gate development of 280 apartments. The Government agency, Sustainable Energy Ireland, considers Lansdowne Gate as a milestone project demonstrating the benefits of a district heating system for residential development in Ireland. The heat recovery ventilation system incorporated throughout this development was another energy efficient innovation. Michael Cosgrave, director, was invited to make a presentation on “Energy Efficiency in Sustainable Development” to the National Housing Conference 2009 in Sligo.
Cosgrave’s have brought flair, innovation and civic spirit to many of their developments by commissioning Irish designers, artists and sculptors to produce significant works of art such as at Pembroke Square, Dublin 4; at Derrynane Square, Dublin 1; at Harcourt Green, Dublin 2; at Simmonscourt Square, Ballsbridge and at The Radisson St. Helen’s Hotel, Stillorgan, while their standards of landscaping are legendary in Dublin.
They have produced some of the most successful residential and commercial developments in Dublin over the past four decades leaving a lasting legacy in the Irish construction industry that is unlikely to be equalled by any other developer. This experience and expertise has positioned them perfectly to lead the way in the rapidly changing market place.
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1979 – 1984 The Early Years
The brothers started in the construction industry in 1979 with a development of five houses in Farmleigh in Stillorgan, County Dublin. While the early eighties were challenging times, Cosgrave’s began to build a solid reputation, carefully choosing site locations, such as Ophaly Court in Dundrum, Dublin 14 and Cowper Downs, Cowper Road, Dublin 6.
In 1984 Cosgrave’s built Belville, a development of 48 apartments on Ailesbury Road in Donnybrook. An innovative development at an impeccable location, Belville was built, completed and sold all within a nine month period.
1985 – 1989 Building a Reputation
Building on the success of Belville, they continued to pioneer residential developments in Dublin, firstly in 1985 with the award winning Morehampton Square, which was the first duplex development in Dublin. Followed by Donnybrook Manor in 1987 which was the first major townhouse
development of its type in a central city location.
More developments followed with the now unique trademark craftsmanship incorporating beautiful landscaping and top quality finishes, for example at Crannagh in Milltown and Shrewsbury in Ballsbridge .
In 1989 Cosgrave’s built Chesterfield in Castleknock, a development of 76 superior quality detached houses which was awarded the “House of the Year Award” in that year.
1990 – 1994 Expanding the Vision
By 1990 they began producing mixed developments adding retail and office space to the residential elements. At Camden Lock they became the first to re-develop in the south Dublin Docklands. More mixed developments were successfully undertaken at Ha’penny Bridge House on Ormond Quay and Grafton Hall on Aungier Street.
In 1991 Cosgrave’s built the now famous Sweepstakes in Ballsbridge. This became a flagship development for the city; its 247 units made it the first major combined apartment and townhouse development in Dublin. In 1992 Cosgrave’s completed Custom Hall on Gardiner Street, this was a brave step that made them the first developer to take on the rejuvenation of the North Inner City.
The Group continued their production of high value apartments and duplex homes with projects like The Northumberlands at Lower Mount Street and Salthill in Monkstown.
1995 – 1999 Attention to Detail
Rathmines Town Centre was constructed in 1995 as well as having a residential and retail element it also included their first hotel. Over the next four years Cosgrave’s built 1,210 homes and 586,500 square feet (54,486 sqm) of commercial space in developments like; Pembroke Square, Grand Canal Street, Harcourt Green of Harcourt Street, Simmonscourt Square at Ballsbridge and the largest project being Westend Retail Park, Cape House and Westend Village, at Blanchardstown shopping centre.
In 1998 the prestigious St. Helen’s Hotel was completed in Stillorgan and became the first Radisson Hotel in Ireland. In 1999 Ardilea Wood was launched in Clonskeagh and featured on the national news for being Ireland’s first million pound housing development and it sold out quickly.
2000 – 2004 The New Millennium
George’s Quay was built in 2000 comprising 250,000 square feet of office space whose glass pyramid roofs now stands as one of Dublin city’s iconic landmarks.
In 2001 Cosgrave’s completed Quay Gate in Belfast City centre, a joint venture project comprising of 118 apartments and 10,000 sqft (929 sqm) of commercial space.
In 2003 Howth Lodge was built, subsequently it was nominated for Development of the Year. In 2004 the Eden Gate project started in Delgany, Co. Wicklow, this would consist of 478 homes and a shopping complex. It was also nominated for Development of the Year in 2005.
2005 – 2009 Managing Change
In 2005 Gulliver’s Retail Park was built consisting of a retail park and office development in Santry comprising of 270,000 square feet (25,083 sqm) of commercial space.
In 2006 the Group helped pioneer a sustainable building concept in building Lansdowne Gate, which consisted of 280 apartments, offices and a crèche. The development incorporated many environmentally friendly features including a state of the art communal heating system which reduced emissions and fuel consumption by 30%.
During this time they were also building Eden Gate and Eden Wood, two superb residential mixed developments of outstanding quality that led to Cosgrave’s being awarded “Developer of the Year in 2007” in the Irish Property Awards.
In 2009 Cosgrave’s started Honeypark on the 82 acre former Dún Laoghaire Golf Club consisting of new homes, a crèche, two public parks, a bowling club and a local shopping complex, continuing their ethos of creating developments that people aspire to live in.
2010 – 2014 Leaders in Energy Efficient Design
By 2010, Honeypark a large development in Dún Laoghaire was in phased construction, with each stage carefully planned and delineated with a building line that presented the finished properties to best effect while segregating building works from new residents.
Cosgraves continue to drive the sustainable agenda by incorporated a state of the art communal heating system and exemplar build quality which reduced emissions and fuel consumption by more than 40% at Rochdale. The installed heating capacity of the apartment block required only 60% of the output of a non-centralised system. Houses at Honeypark, Bracken Park and Thormanby Hill would receive similar treatment where investment in the fabric of the buildings would deliver a new generation of Cosgrave Houses, built with passive house characteristics: high levels of air tightness, heat recovery ventilation throughout and insulation levels well in excess of Building Regulations, with energy ratings of A2 and A3 being achieved as standard.
Among their credits Cosgrave’s were “Overall Environment Award” winners in Ireland’s Sustainable Energy Awards, marking their outstanding achievements and leadership in energy efficient design.
2015 – 2019 Delivering The Five Pillars Of Excellence
Overall winner of Irelands Sustainable Energy Award in 2016 for the second time, Cosgraves enjoy exceptional industry recognition not only for Sustainable Development but also for Community Benefit, Design Excellence, Planning Excellence and Energy Efficiency. By 2019 Cualanor, the northern side of the Old Dun Laoghaire Golf Club is nearing completion and becomes Ireland’s first development of all A2/A3 Rated homes, while Cedarview Houses and Bridgefields Apartments bring the same high standards to Santry. Apartments at Neptune, Leona,Charlotte in Honeypark, Fairways at Cualanor and Bridgefields in Santry lead the way in purpose built Private Rental Sector development and achieve exceptional build programmes. Cosgrave introduce the Five Pillars of Excellence to support the sharing of their vision of the highest standards across all projects. By 2019 Cosgraves have built well over 7,000 homes and in excess of 1.5 million sqft of commercial space.
2019 – A Sustainable Future
Following the success of Honeypark and Cualanor, the Group is committed to sustainable development, enhanced community benefit, new technologies and above all the delivery of quality living environments. The redevelopment of Dun Laoghaire Golf Club is widely regarded as the finest example of a mixed development of its kind. Project of the future will benefit from this expertise to deliver the sustainable, stylish and amenity rich communities of tomorrow.
Fassaroe and Old Conna sites have each been selected for their suitability for mixed development and long term sustainability. These mixed development sites will provide the optimal scale to facilitate the infrastructure, childcare, leisure, schools and commercial elements that sustainable communities rely on to reduce their dependence on carbon fuels.
However, it is their expertise, tried and tested resources and reputation that perhaps gives these sites their competitive advantage. These are the Cosgrave developments of tomorrow.
15 Hogan Place, Dublin 2