There was a fire at what was once the rather fine-looking building that was Rawlton House on Sherrard Street, off Gardiner Street, in late January 2023. It was built in 1899 and used to be a boy’s school. Old followers of the Dublin music scene may remember passing it on their way to a gig at the Francis Xavier Hall.
I recall being at a benefit there in 1983 for Nicky Kelly featuring Christy Moore and Moving Hearts. Bernadette Devlin/McAliskey made an impassioned speech about how the rulers of the state were selling us out. Now she is a big hitter in the NGO asylum sector through the South Tyrone Empowerment Programme. The SFX was later demolished and replaced by apartments.
According to RTÉ and other sources, including The Journal, the fire at Rawlton House was linked to rumours that the building was planned to become an asylum accommodation centre contracted through IPAS. It started relatively early before 6pm and apparently a number of men were seen breaking windows prior to the outbreak. I don’t think anyone was ever pinched for it.
Social Democrat TD for the Dublin Central constituency Gary Gannon blamed what he described as “false statements” circulating on social media for what indeed had all the appearances of having been an arson attack. Media sources quoted unnamed officials in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) who categorically refuted claims that the building and whoever owned it had been contracted by them to set up an accommodation centre.
Well, guess what. It would appear that becoming an accommodation centre was to be that building’s destiny, or at least that the current owners of Rawlton House, CDK Properties, want it to be, because last Wednesday didn’t they only go and submit a planning application to Dublin City Council seeking – or rather notifying the Council because such things do not require normal planning procedures – “a change of use from commercial to housing of persons seeking international protection- Exemption 20(f) Applies.” They wish to use the exemption to carry out changes to the layout of the building.
CDK Properties had applied for planning permission to Dublin City Council in 2021 to turn the building into apartments. That was granted a social housing exemption. There is a record on the DCC planning site from May 2022 to change over to apartments and to build a new three storey apartment block. That was refused in June 2022.
According to the National Building Control and Market Surveillance Office, CDK Properties first applied to the Council for a Class 20F exemption in August 2023. I could not find that application on the Council Planning site, but it is obviously a live proposal since last Wednesday.
The 20(f) refers to Class 20F, which readers who are familiar with the asylum industry will recognise as the Class 20F exemption which allows more or less any building or site to be transferred from its previous use to be contracted as an accommodation centre for persons seeking International Protection of Temporary Protection.
At the time of the mysterious fire it is not quite clear from the property records who actually owned the building. However, the current registered owners are CDK Properties with an address at Main Street, Leixlip. There is also a registered mortgage on the premises between CDK Properties and Emerald Sky 3 Designated Activity Company and Lotus Investment Management Limited.
That charge or mortgage is dated as March 7, 2023 on the property folio for Rawlton House but is registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) as having been created on February 8, 2024.
The company that holds the mortgage, Emerald Sky and Lotus Investment, has an address at Mespil Road, Ballsbridge, not far from the Aviva Stadium – which would surely make a nice spot for an asylum accommodation centre would it not? Neighbours would be only thrilled I’d imagine. Just like the people of the north inner city are said to be by Rawlton House is for All or Gardiner Street is for Everyone or whichever NGO might come to the defence of these mysterious benefactors.
I say mysterious because Lotus Investment is 98.97% owned by MEITAV Investment House but you will not find out easily who they are because, like many a dabbler in the booming Irish accommodation sector, they’re not actually an Irish company. Nor indeed is the other 0.94% shareholder Blue Sun, which owns Laurelbay.
MEITAV is actually an Israeli investment company, based in Tel Aviv. Perhaps we might expect to see some of the Palestinians whose CVs did not get them a job as a croupier in the “Riviera of the Middle East” rock up to the Auld Triangle for a pint of plain some day soon. Blue Sun Holdings is a Singapore-based investment company. Ah, diversity…
GDK Properties is owned by Loginima Holdings which has an address in Wexford and which is entirely owned by a chap named Patrick Ward. He also owns Ryevale Securities, Earls Mews, and Yellow Wave.
Rawlton House appears to be his first venture into the helping industry. Welcome aboard sir.