A redevelopment opportunity facing the new Luas Green line on Marlborough Street in Dublin 1 is on the market for more than
€3 million.
Sackville House, a retail and office building to the rear of Clerys department store, is for sale by private treaty through Savills.
It is located at the junction of Sackville Place and Marlborough Street and has substantial street frontage.
The three-storey building includes five retail units at ground-floor level with a total area of 929sq m (10,000sq ft) and office accommodation at first- and second-floor levels totalling 1,672sq m (18,000sq ft).
The overall net internal floor area of 2,497.2sq m (26,880sq ft) is currently producing an income of €58,250 per annum. Two of the retail units are occupied and the office space has only recently been vacated by the OPW.
Sackville House was last on the market in June 2006 – right at the peak of the property bubble – when Hamilton Osborne King quoted a price of more than €20 million. However, it failed to sell at the time.
Back then, the block was being sold by Shelbourne Development which had acquired it about three years previously as part of a swop for the Lidl convenience store on Parnell Street. Shelbourne Development went into receivership in 2011 and its property loans have been transferred to Nama. But Savills says the current vendor "is not Shelbourne and we are not at liberty to confirm who the vendor is".
Back in 2006, the five retail units were producing a rent roll of €200,786. However, it was the building’s site – at 0.25 acres – which was the main attraction, given that Dublin city planners were expected to favour a higher density development in the expectation that it could act as an anchor for the rejuvenation of the area.
Mark Reynolds of Savills says Sackville House will more than likely be redeveloped into office accommodation with ground floor retail due to its prime city centre location.
“We also feel that student accommodation specialists may consider this as an opportunity,” he says.
Sackville House is close to several major public transport hubs, including the Luas, Dart and Busáras. The Railway Procurement Agency is currently constructing the next extension of the Luas line which will run past the front door of Sackville House. This line will link St Stephen's Green to Broombridge, spanning the River Liffey.
“We are confident Sackville House will appeal to a range of owner-occupiers, developers and speculators,” says Reynolds.