Investments: An apartment block in Christchurch for €16m and a hotel in Citywest for €12m have just come on the market. Jack Fagan reports.
A block of 37 apartments at Christchurch in Dublin city centre and a former hotel at Citywest that could possibly be converted into 94 apartments are expected to appeal to groups of investors when they go on the market today.
Enda Moore of Hooke & MacDonald is quoting in excess of €16 million for Christchurch Hall, a block of 37 apartments and four office units at High Street, Dublin 8, which go to tender on October 7th.
In west Dublin, David Murphy of Hamilton Osborne King is looking for offers over €12 million for The Quality Hotel which forms part of Citywest at Saggart. It is for sale by private treaty.
Christchurch Hall was built by the Cosgrave Homes in 1995 and the apartments were let on a short term basis mainly to the corporate market. Cosgraves has now opted to sell on the investment because of their ever-expanding development programme, which includes the superbly located grounds of Dún Laoghaire golf course.
Though the letting market for apartments in the greater Dublin area has slowed down somewhat, this has had little or no affect in the Christchurch area because of its close proximity to the main entertainment and business areas of the city.
Christchurch Hall is a five-storey building on a pivotal island site beside Taylor's Hall. There are 31 two-bedroom apartments and six one-bedroom units, all fully furnished and ready for immediate re-letting. There are also four ground floor office units totalling 665 sq m (7,158 sq ft) which are all let on long leases. They are currently producing a rent roll of €154,478 per annum with rent reviews due in 2005 and 2006. There are also 15 car-parking spaces available within an adjoining scheme.
Whoever buys Christchurch Hall will have the option of either retaining the apartments for letting or selling them off individually. At an overall price of €16 million, the units will work out at around €350,000 each. The offices are valued at about €3 million.
For investors, there is the added attraction of tax incentives of €1.22 million on the apartments and €266,695 on the offices.
The Quality Hotel, also known as the Westpark Hotel, is less straight forward as an investment but also has its attractions.
The complex was developed six years ago for a group of investors and includes 146 bedrooms set out in seven blocks. It stands on seven acres of parkland overlooking the 16th fairway at Citywest golf course.
Each of the blocks has four levels and its own entrance hall and lift. The likelihood is that the accommodation will be divided into 94 apartments because the developer, businessman Jim Mansfield, already operates a major hotel closeby.
Though the original plan provided for a change back into individual apartments, this cannot go ahead unless the planners agree to a rezoning of the site.
David Murphy says that the site has a low density at the moment and could possibly accommodate up to 300 apartments.
The complex fronts on to the Naas Road and is reached off the main road connecting the Naas Road to Saggart village. The M50 is a short distance away.
