Residentia lLandCarlow's ever increasing popularity as a commuter town is expected to lead to competition among a handful of housebuilders for a residential site which has just come on the market on the Dublin Road, just outside the town.
Joint agents Savills HOK and Kehoe Auctioneers are suggesting a valuation of over €20 million for the greenfield site of 12.6 hectares (31 acres) which is zoned for housing under the Carlow town council development plan.
It is located in a predominantly residential area and is bounded to the south by the Highfield housing estate and to the east by a new residential development known as Castle Oaks.
The land has 210 metres of frontage onto the Dublin Road and is within easy walking distance of the town centre. It is also located close to the local GAA and rugby grounds.
Though housing densities in the town vary from one location to another, Cathal Kelly of Savills HOK says he expects that the planners would allow about 10 houses per acre on the land going for sale. If that prediction proves accurate, the site could accommodate over 300 units.
Carlow is a thriving midlands town, due largely to the success of local industries which include Braun and Lapple.
Its institute of technology, with a student population of 6,000, has also been an important boon for the town.
Carlow Business and Technology Park also got a shot in the arm recently through the announcement by the Irish firm Intellicom that it is to open an office there with an initial employment of 65. That figure is expected to rise to 200 in the near future.
The site is to go to tender on May 30th.
