Quotes of the week

“Improved delivery of fresh air - people will demand that. It might cost landlords a year’s worth of rent to make adaptations to provide it, a significant amount of money. But it’s that or risk having a building that’s obsolete.” – Chris Lewis, a director at Devono Cresa.

“We were very surprised that a proposal of this nature would even be considered during a world-wide pandemic. Covid-19 has struck every country in the world, the very nature of co-living would have the potential of spreading the virus even further. It could endanger the local community at large." – Chief executive of Arytza, Kevin Toland, and his wife, Aisling.

"A “moral” building was one that made a positive contribution to society and human beings as a whole, not one simply designed to extract as much profit as possible from the people living in them." -- Damian Flanagan, property investor

"Provided social distancing is observed and cleaning in the common areas is performed diligently ... I believe the risk [of transmission in Bartra's Merrion Road co-living plan] even in the kitchens is negligible.” -- Dr Martin Hogan

“This is the third report in a row in which the national commercial vacancy rate has increased compared to the previous year. We can expect to see further significant changes in the coming years with the moderation in economic growth predicted as a result of Covid-19, international tourism in significant decline, the risk of a no-deal Brexit on the table and working from home becoming more prevalent." – Dara Keogh, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory

"He [Gerald D Hines] was always highly engaged in the work we did here in Ireland and after visiting Cherrywood some years ago, he insisted we build the three major parks and connecting infrastructure, up front, before any development – and that is what we did." – Brian Moran, senior managing director of Hines Ireland.