Glassworks Building One, on the old Waterford Crystal site, Cork Road, was opened by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, last Monday, 23 March.
Building One at Glassworks is a €43m project and will eventually house 800 employees. Building One is the flagship of the Glassworks estate. It is the first milestone in a 37-acre enterprise and innovation campus beside SETU, which is expected to have capacity for up to 6,000 employees in the future.
Building One has been developed as a joint venture former between the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Frisby, the Waterford-based developers.
Building One is expected to have let 50% of office space by next month, including a day hospital unit in the former Crystal showroom space for clinical eye care service providers, Veonet Ireland.
Veonet is consulting with SETU about partnering in training and research in the field of optometry.
The 80,000 sq ft Building One is Waterford’s first purpose-built, BER A3 rated office building that meets LEED Gold and WiredScore Gold standards.
Planning permission has also been granted for a 582-student bed development on adjacent lands.
“By bringing students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and multinationals together in one place, the campus will strengthen the South East’s already vibrant innovation network and provide a powerful launchpad for the next generation of ground-breaking ideas to be realised,” said SETU President Professor Veronica Campbell.
300 tons of asbestos
With protestors outside the gate, a who’s who of Waterford politics and business awaited the Taoiseach’s arrival amidst a noticeable Garda and security presence at Glassworks Building One on Monday morning last.
After the ribbon had been cut, as the Taoiseach made his way to the function room for speeches, he was pulled aside by Ministers of State, John Cummins and Mary Butler, before he addressed the crowd. The Taoiseach was not available for questions during the event. In reply to The Munster Express, Minister Cummins said this moment was not in relation to the former Waterford Crystal workers protesting outside but was to ensure the Taoiseach was fully briefed on the Glassworks project.
Near the end of the event, Noel Frisby spoke to the crowd in what he said himself was a rare moment of public speaking. Since its creation in the early 1980s Frisby Homes has built over 2,000 housing units in Waterford and are major developers in the region.
Speaking at the event, Noel Frisby Snr said: “I just want to clear this up because there was some media accusations going around that other people owned the site. I bought this site a long time ago, 2012, from the receivers from Bank of America. I think they were owed about €100m at the time”.
“They had it on the market in Cork for about two years, and nobody was interested because of the complexity of the site. There were a lot of issues, the EPA, the environmental association, were in here and everything had to be done in accordance to their way of doing things – I can assure you, you don’t want to be there,” he added with a smile.
“The closure of the crystal was an awful bad blow for Waterford City. It really impacted hugely on the financial capability of the area. It wasn’t obvious what the future would be, in 2012, what I was going to achieve here, but I did know the college here at the time, WIT, was going to be an integral part of anything that happened,” he said.
“We could have put apartments on it, we could have put social houses on it, we could have taken a quick easy exit out of the thing,” explained Mr Frisby.
“We did a deal with SETU and the government to sell 20 acres of this land here because we wanted to be the catalyst for them to establish what you have already heard Veronica and others say – centres of excellence – to educate people that will be working in the pharmacy industry and also the veterinary industry.”
Mr Frisby explained the Glassworks project was far from straightforward when he purchased the old Waterford Crystal Factory.
“When I first walked through this building it was awesome, the size of it. That was 600,000 square feet of a factory. Unfortunately, it became quickly apparent that nobody wanted that kind of a factory anymore. The type of factory buildings that were there, were outdated.
“The site was controlled by the EPA and we actually had to drill 28 wells down to the water table on the site and off the site. We appointed an environmental agent from Dublin to take water testing here every month to ensure we were complying with the regulations,” Mr. Frisby continued.
“That time we took a lot of, let’s say abuse and everything else, for the state of the building, and we had lots of fires here, it was impossible to control. There was lots of vandalism, lots of thievery, lot of stuff you don’t want to hear about.
“We then started to knock the factory and we sent about 300 tons of asbestos over to Germany in sealed containers to comply with the correct means of disposal,” Mr Frisby explained as he thanked the former Waterford Council Chief Executive, Michael Walsh, for his help with the issue.
“I remember all the evenings sitting at home with Stephanie thinking what are we going to do with this place and doing up plans, and we would have breakthrough ideas on a Friday night maybe after a glass of red wine or two,” he joked. “We would draw up the new iteration of what it was going to be like, and then maybe a couple of weeks later: oh no that’s a bad idea … anyway, we eventually got to what’s here today.”
Mr Frisby ended his speech with a joke that housing developers from a more media-polished generation may not have made.
“The students that will graduate here, it is important the companies that are located here will be able to take those people on board and can keep them in the locality, ultimately it will mean they stay in Waterford, they will support the City, they will settle down, and hopefully they will buy a Frisby house!”
This last line was delivered tongue in-cheek and was well received.
“I think I built the first house that I ever built in this City in 1976, in Viewmount and we have been building ever since. We didn’t go into NAMA or anything like that, we weathered that storm,” Mr. Frisby added before thanking SETU, ISIF, and all involved in the project.
Political reaction
Minster of State, John Cummins, spoke to The Munster Express at the event, and agreed that he saw the day as Waterford turning a corner.
“Today is a very significant and proud day for Waterford. Standing here in Building One at the Glassworks site — a place that holds such deep history and meaning for our city — marks an important milestone in the renewal and future growth of Waterford. I want to sincerely thank the Taoiseach for joining us and to acknowledge the major commitment shown by Frisby, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, SETU and all partners involved in bringing this vision to life,” said Minister Cummins.
“This project represents the unveiling of Ireland’s first co-located university enterprise quarter on a site that once played such a central role in Waterford’s prosperity. It is fitting that it will now once again become a place of innovation, opportunity and ambition. I have had the pleasure of working with Frisby over recent years and I want to commend their team for their foresight, determination and willingness to take on a challenge in recognising the potential of this historic location.
“When we look at the developments happening here and across the city, including the North Quays, it is clear that Waterford is transforming. Today is a day to be proud of our city — proud of those who invest, work, learn and do business here. The future for Waterford is exceptionally bright,” Minister Cummins added.
Minister of State and Government Chief Whip, Mary Butler, accompanied the Taoiseach for the opening, and had glowing remarks about the promise of the Glassworks development.
“This former Waterford Crystal site, once a famous hub of business and tourism, remains a historic landmark in the modern history of our city. It is so appropriate therefore, that this site is now facilitating a rebirth of such significance as the new home of Ireland’s first co-located university enterprise quarter,” Minister Butler said.
“The steps taken by the State and SETU in 2023 to purchase the 20.3 acres here to further this ambition are beginning to come to fruition today. I’m really pleased to accompany the Taoiseach to Waterford today to officially open the Glassworks campus development. The ribbon cutting of “Building 1” here in the heart of the city, represents a significant marker in economic progress for the South East.
“This will be an active and dynamic university enterprise quarter co-locating SETU and business to promote, research and development, business, education and employment in Waterford and the wider region. This wonderfully striking building is leading the way with the likes of the Health One Building to come. It also follows successful bids for two recently established programmes in Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy at SETU. I am also working very closely with Prof. John Nolan in relation to the development of an optometry programme,” added Minister Butler.
Mayor for Waterford City and County Cllr. Seamus Ryan summed up the occasion in his speech saying: “This site has found a new direction. What we see here today carries forward that same sense of ambition. The focus has shifted, but the underlying spirit remains”.
“There is still a drive to create, to build, and to contribute something of value,” Mayor Ryan added.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
