Kavco is one of Ireland’s premier privately-owned construction companies, with a proven track record in delivering industry-leading multi-unit social housing and urban regeneration solutions. Building Ireland touched base with brothers Chris and Ciaran Kavanagh to find out more about this exceptional family-run business.
Operating at the forefront of Ireland’s construction industry and continually investing in modern business practices and management techniques, Kavco invariably deliver high-quality, sustainable buildings on time and within budget. Highly experienced in providing public and affordable social housing throughout Ireland, they consistently deliver homes of exceptional quality and finish for numerous local authorities across Ireland.
Delivering lasting change in the communities they build in, Kavco is a flexible and versatile project-focussed main contractor, vastly experienced across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors and with the capacity to deploy whichever building system is best-suited to each specific project, from traditional builds to modern methods of construction such as ICF or O’Reilly Concrete’s innovative architectural wall panels. This adaptable, expert approach enables them to achieve bespoke solutions tailored to the exact requirements of each individual project.
Comprising the development of 17 one- and two-bedroom apartments spread over six floors (and a ground floor commercial / café unit), the currently ongoing Annesley Bridge project at North Strand is one of the many recent projects that sees Kavco Group working with state agencies to provide much-needed social housing in Dublin city.
Other features of this project – which began with the demolition and removal of the existing structure (an old AIB bank) and all associated materials – include balconies to the north, south east and west elevations, with a roof terrace on the fifth and sixth floor levels, internal bike storage, refuse store, new common pedestrian access from Poplar Row and associated landscaping and site works. Off-site construction is being utilised – in this case the aforementioned O’Reilly Concrete system.
“This innovative rapid-built system usus full architectural precast panels fully manufactured off site in their factory in Cavan,” confirms director Ciaran Kavanagh. “This is only the second residential development to use this system, Jamie Moran’s four-unit development in Ranelagh having been the first. Once the panels arrive on site, we will have a 12-14-week programme to put the structure in place. It’s extremely fast and efficient and is a system we will certainly be using more going forward. O’Reilly Concrete have been absolutely brilliant to deal with and we’re really looking forward to working with them again in the future.”
In terms of embracing MMC, Kavco have also used ICF (Insulating Concrete Formwork) on previous projects and tend to approach each challenge on its own merits. “We can switch from one system to another depending on the proximity of the project and access. Every job is different and access is a big issue, especially in the city centre. The site will largely dictate which is the most efficient approach. Where access is curtailed, we will use off-site construction.
“We always put a lot of thought and planning into the site. We have a little more space for the new social housing scheme that we’ve only recently started in Clonshaugh [a Dublin 17 development comprise one- and two-bedroom apartments spread over three floors, with utilities including a bicycle parking shed, separate waste storage structure and landscaped grounds], so we’re using ICF there. This is another quick build, with no bricks, and we’ll be plastering straight onto the ICF. These are all things you need to consider very carefully before lodging the planning application.”
Ultimately, it comes down to what works best on each specific scheme and Kavco have the expertise and experience to advise and work with clients accordingly. Indeed, Ciaran and Chris adapt a collaborative approach from the very first contact through to handover, ensuring that the client remains fully involved and is kept up to speed with progress as it happens.
Kavco Group have over the past two years evolved into a proven specialist in delivering much-needed high-quality, rapid-build social housing and are currently working on up to 120 such units on various sites nationwide. Within the past twelve months alone, they have completed as many as 162 single unit social housing refurbishment projects for an assortment of local authorities, including Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council, Wicklow County Council, Westmeath County Council, Kildare County Council and Louth County Council to name just some. At the time of writing, Kavco were also busy working on multi-unit sites in Kells, County Meath (15 units over three floors, scheduled for completion next March) and Tuam, County Galway (eight brand new apartments for the social housing rental sector) amongst others.
The Kavco team have just completed a magnificent multi-storey refurbishment of an existing structure at Mill Wharf in Drogheda, County Louth to deliver 27 apartments over three floors, breathing new life into the Artistic Quarter of one of Ireland’s fastest growing towns. Overlooking the River Boyne, this structure had suffered severe fire damage in 2007, which presented unique challenges in the refurbishment.
Kavco Group brought this beautiful building back to life with extensive works carried out on the facade and full refurbishment of the apartments along with all common areas like stairwells, lifts and hallways. New furniture, flooring and utilities were installed throughout, along with fresh painting and décor, fire remediation, plastering works, plumbing and new insulation. Meanwhile, work has just commenced on a small social housing development of five three-bedroom terrace houses at Abbotstown Avenue / Cardiff Bridge Road in Finglas.
Synonymous with high-quality workmanship and the keenest attention to detail on projects both large and small, Kavco are trusted by private and public clients alike to complete projects that not only meet but exceed expectation and have earned an unrivalled reputation for successfully delivering even the most complex of projects. They also possess the skills and expertise to complete commercial and / or industrial projects – from three-storey town centre office blocks to rural industrial warehousing – covering general construction, construction management, design-build, design-assist and turnkey project development.
While the current construction climate is unforgiving due to a host of mitigating factors, Kavco are performing remarkably well: “We are battling with price increases across the board and it can be a struggle to keep costs down, but all developers and contractors are in the same boat at the moment,” states CEO Chris Kavanagh. “Despite the obvious challenges, we have managed to get through all of our projects reasonably on time and within budget. We have an excellent team and they make an invaluable contribution to the success of the company.
“We have a very strong order book going forward, with a good pipeline of work lined up, including a couple of sites in Ashbourne and Ballyfermot going through planning at the minute. Social housing will continue to be our main focus and we’d hope to get up to between 300 and 400 units next year, which I feel is an achievable target.”
Gainful full-time employment is generated for twenty direct employees, including an exceptional office-based team of finance managers, QS, project manager and Health & Safety manager as well as experienced foremen and skilled tradesmen and labourers on site. Kavco also call upon a tried and trusted crew of regular subcontractors for groundworks, blocklaying, M&E, etc. “We work a lot with Paul Moran and CDP Architecture in Lucan,” Chris continues. “We enjoy a very good working relationship with them and find them to be very efficient and responsive.”
Chris and Ciaran Kavanagh are second-generation builders, hailing from a strong carpentry background. They developed their love of construction from their father, Liam, and his late brother, Patsy, who used to oversee a highly-skilled carpentry crew operating around the capital and sometimes beyond. Proud to be a privately-owned business with strong family values, Kavco Group is an innovative, proactive contractor which brings together the best craftspeople, architects, engineers and builders to deliver quality homes that stand the test of time.
Kavco Group,
Unit C5,
Block C,
Santry Business Park,
Swords Road,
Dublin 9.
Tel: 01 8903274
Email: [email protected]
Web: kavco.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, February 2022, Vol 8 No 2
