Grand Canal Dock, the location of Facebook’s EMEA HQ. Image: faithie/Shutterstock
Facebook is looking into leasing a massive office campus in Dublin 4.
Facebook has been a mainstay of the Grand Canal Dock area of Dublin for several years now, but it looks like the company could be in the market for new office space.
According to Bloomberg, the company has set its sights on the AIB office space in Ballsbridge, which is a massive 41,800 square metres (450,000 square feet) in size.
An anonymous source close to the company said that the Dublin 4 location is not the only place being considered by the social network.
AIB is seeking to lease the space after the bank decided to move its headquarters to Molesworth Street in Dublin city centre by the summer of 2019.
Expansion in store
In an emailed statement, Facebook noted that the office space exploration stems from its major job creation announcement in late 2017: “Last year, we announced that our Irish operations will be growing with hundreds more jobs across all our teams.
“To best facilitate this and future growth, we’re looking at various expansion options.”
According to a report in The Irish Times, Amazon may be in the running for the same site, as it has been on the hunt for further office space for some time.
Tech firms putting down roots
Tech giants are expanding rapidly in Ireland’s capital, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar present at the opening of the newest Google offices at the Velasco Building in Dublin yesterday (8 February). The offices, which will be home to Google Dublin’s enterprise and cloud teams, will also house an Advanced Solutions Lab for enterprise customers to create custom solutions for their business on-site.
Speaking at the launch, Varadkar said: “The opening of the Velasco Building represents the next stage of Google’s relationship with Ireland and represents a major strategic investment in cloud computing here.
“The Government is committed to creating a supportive ecosystem to secure a share of the rapidly growing tech industry and usher in a new wave of cloud [and] AI research and development.”
Fionnuala Meehan, VP and head of Google in Dublin, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our presence in Ireland and are very excited at the opportunities it presents for Irish and EMEA businesses.
“Growing our cloud and enterprise teams, along with the establishment of our Advanced Solutions Lab, is sure to drive education and adoption of cloud technology by Irish businesses. It builds on the success of The Foundry which has become a centre of learning.”
2017 was a record year for the Dublin office market, with Microsoft also leasing a large site in Sandyford.
Grand Canal Dock, the location of Facebook’s EMEA HQ. Image: faithie/Shutterstock
