Redevelopment Site:The businessman David Kennedy, who is heading up a syndicate redeveloping Clancy Barracks in Dublin into a residential scheme, has moved a stage further in assembling a large site on the western side of the city.
He has just paid over €50 million for the former Unilever/Lyons Tea plant which stands on a site of 3.52 hectares (8.7 acres) on Davitt Road in Inchicore, Dublin 12. It adjoins another site of 4.4 acres also bought from Unilever by Kennedy. He paid around €15.5 million for it about two years ago.
The larger site has mixed-use potential, according to joint selling agents Lisney and DTZ Sherry FitzGerald. It is zoned objective Z6 in the Dublin City Council Development Plan "to provide for the creation and protection of enterprise and facilitate opportunities for employment creation". Yet, given that the land is surrounded by residential developments and lies alongside the Luas line, mixed-use zoning is highly likely given the council's own views on the development of objective Z6 lands. It lies 3.2kms west of the city centre, about 15 minutes on the Luas from the city centre.
Uses permitted or open for consideration under its Z6 zoning include residential, restaurant, local shop, office, warehousing, non-food retail, light industry and hotel.
With over 13 acres now in his ownership, Kennedy has the scope to seek approval for a high density mixed-use scheme of mainly apartments, as well as a small element of retail facilities and a significant amount of offices.
The availability of the Luas service on the edge of both sites virtually guarantees that the planners will give their approval for a large scheme.
Unilever Ireland announced its intention to close its Goldenbridge manufacturing centre last September following a review of its operations across Europe. The closure at Goldenbridge will not affect its other operations in this country.
