Deal wrapped up:  Munster sustainable business hub  secures first green deal with packaging company 

Styled as a “best in class” commercial scheme with low energy-aligned LEED Gold standard ratings, it includes four acres of retained Irish native woodland at the south of the site — a mix of existing mature plus newly planted native woodland, according to developers JCD Group.

Having committed to retain and actively manage this green area, they say there is an annual carbon offset of nine tonnes per annum. This is enough to offset the carbon generated by the ongoing operation of the common areas of the park, where construction started last year.

Just confirmed as a first tenant in JCD Group’s newest development, Evergreen Business Park, on 20 acres in the heart of Little Island is Silverstream Packaging, an Irish owned distribution firm on an expansionist trajectory — it is its third premises in Cork since 2013.

Silverstream has taken a long-term lease of 33,300sq ft on building E400 in the 240,000sq ft Evergreen Business Park. It previously moved to Little Ireland’s Euro Business Park in 2017 when it committed to 16,000sq ft and, at that time, relocated and upscaled from the South Link Business Park in suburban Ballycurreen.

It’s understood the rent achieved now is €13.50 per square foot.

Established in 2013, specialist distributor Silverstream provides a range of sustainable packaging products — janitorial and hygiene solutions suitable for the retail and food service sectors, butchers, bakers, bars, and baristas. It’s a sister company of Versatile Packaging, established in 1998 and supplying markets in Ireland and Britain.

Letting agent for Evergreen Business Park are Niall Guerin, of Savills, and CBRE’s Denis O’Donoghue.

It’s a commercially zoned business park spanning five-buildings, with blocks ranging from 30,000sq ft to 65,000sq ft.

Notably, planning permission has also been recently secured to combine buildings E200 and E300 — which would provide up to 110,000sq ft in a single building. It’s understood that JCD is in talks with a number of potential occupiers seeking space on this scale.

Construction started in 2024 and building E100, some 64,5000sq ft, will be complete in Q2 of this year, along with phase one works that also include roads and infrastructure for the entire development.

Little Island’s commuter rail station is within a walk of Evergreen Business Park.

Continuing the “sustainability” track, the deal with Silverstream follows on a similar one reported here in December when Dutch firm Paardekooper — specialising in biodegradable, compostable, and reusable packaging products — did a deal at €13 per square foot for 27,000sq ft with 12m eaves at Blarney Business Park in what was recorded as the first industrial building in Cork to be delivered to LEED Gold certification standards.

They are set to occupy by March of this year, and construction is underway on the final building at Blarney — which is also set to have a rail link at Stoneview — bringing the scheme north of the city to around 750,000sq ft on completion.

Evergreen’s building has reached LEED Gold/BER A3 standards, having 14m internal eaves, vehicle electric charge points, shower areas, landscaping, and covered bicycle storage and cycleways.

Denis Mulcahy, commercial property director with JCD Group, said the park “raises the bar in relation to sustainable building standards”.

“The vision is to create a highly sustainable, best-in-class business park environment with dedicated cycle paths, extensive landscaping, and the retained woodland,” he added.

Meanwhile, Silverstream’s Eamon Butler said the move allowed them to grow their business. He added that “the location in the heart of Little Island, close to the new Dunkettle Interchange, [which] gives us quick access to the national road network.”