Cork’s City Gate Park in Mahon today takes a further step towards major IT talent clustering with confirmation of the arrival of hundreds of EMC Corporation jobs to the new office campus.EMC -—which has annual revenues worldwide of $20bn and 60,000 employees globally — has taken 50,000 sq ft, over two floors in Block A of the John Cleary Developments ambitious scheme — a recession-bucking success. While the number of new jobs being created, or transferred, has remained a tightly-guarded detail, there’s sufficient space in the 50,000 sq ft being leased by EMC to cater for 300 jobs with quality boardrooms, meeting rooms, communal spaces, etc. At a higher, call-centre-type density, it could even accommodate up to 500 persons — but that’s not likely to be EMC intentions for the space. EMC has had a very successful Centre of Excellence in Cork’s Ovens for a number of years, and employs around 2,500 in Ireland in cloud and big data storage. It also owns VM/Ware, another Ballincollig-based IT company and a significant employer in Cork’s western suburbs,. Now, after months of ‘open secret’ about EMC’s move to a second campus at Mahon, the company’s brand has finally gone up on Block A at City Gate Park, in time for Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s jobs and investment announcement there today. The Taoiseach last visited the fully-completed 300,000 sq ft City Gate Park in October 2012 when Dell/Quest officially opened their 75,000 sq ft Block C building which they’ve bought outright from Cleary Developments for around €300 psf. The latest development, aimed very much at the FDI sector, is capable of hosting 1,500 jobs. Since Dell’s opening, DFS Sofas opened in Block A’s ground floor, and law firm Ronan Daly Jermyn, Cork’s largest legal practice has moved there, taking 30,000 sq ft across the atrium from EMC. Rents quoted at the time of RDJ’s move were c € 22-24 psf, and sources speculate that EMC’s rent for its 50,000 sq ft could be in the order of €18 psf, or around €900,000 pa. Letting agents are Downing Commercial and CBRE. The completion later this summer of two flyovers on Cork City’s ring road, at Sarsfield Road Wilton and Bishopstown, will mean the two major Cork EMC centres will be a congestion and junction-free drive between Mahon and Ovens. Details: wwwcitygateparkcork.com By Tommy Barker, Irish Examiner, Thursday, June 13, 2013