Amazon seeks Grange Castle land worth €23m
By Maurice Garvey
AMAZON is seeking to acquire over 46 acres of land for a data centre campus in Grange Castle Business Park in a bid to support demand for cloud computing services in the region.
The land is valued by South Dublin County Council at over €23 million.
Global tech giants Amazon delivered an application to SDCC, detailing proposals for the construction of a data centre campus in Grange Castle.
If the development goes ahead, it would build on Amazon’s presence in South Dublin County. Tallaght is home to four data centres with another facility due to be built at the former Jacobs site.
Sources close to the development say construction work could create an average of 250 jobs over a five- to seven-year period, with up to 400 workers on-site during peak construction.
The Amazon campus itself, when operational in Grange Castle, is projected to employ over 260 staff with potential for spin off jobs.
The application, from Amazon Data Services Ireland Limited, Burlington Road, seeks to acquire 40.19 acres with an option to purchase a further 6.55 acres at Grange Castle Business Park South.
Planning permission has yet to be lodged with the local authority.
At the monthly meeting last week, SDCC Chief Executive Daniel McLoughlin recommend disposing of the 46.74 acres to Amazon.
A report by Mr McLoughlin said Amazon has established itself as a key employer in Ireland and the investment in South Dublin County Council is “testament to the facilities offered at Grange Castle Business Park”.
Amazon has over 2,500 staff in Ireland and announced a further 1,000 new jobs last month.
Grange Castle is home to some of the world’s largest companies including Google, Microsoft, Pfizer, Takeda, and Grifols.
Precise boundaries at the land have yet to be established but a formal land registry map is being prepared by SDCC for inclusion with legal documents to Amazon for approval.
Terms of the disposal would be under a 999 year lease.
Land in Grange Castle is calculated at €500,000 per acre according to the report.
