REDEVELOPMENT SITE:THE DEPARTMENT of Health is to sell the Blindcraft premises at Davitt Road in Inchicore, Dublin 12, following a decision to close down the service and lay off the 36 workers who are blind and visually impaired.
Ross Shorten of Lisney is suggesting a price of over €5 million for the corner site of 0.34 of a hectare (0.85 of an acre) which goes for sale by tender on July 3rd.
A building of 1,990sq m (21,420sq ft) on the site overlooks the Grand Canal and lies alongside the Luas line. It has 35 metres of frontage on to Davitt Road and 90 metres of frontage on to Kilworth Road. It is zoned Z6 in the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2005-2011 "to provide for the creation and protection of enterprise and facilitate opportunities for employment creation".
Yet, given that the site is surrounded by residential developments and is next to the Luas, mixed-use zoning is highly likely given the council's own views on the development objective of Z6 lands. Twelve months ago businessman David Kennedy, who is heading up a syndicate redeveloping the former Clancy Barracks in Dublin into a residential scheme, paid €50 million for the former Unilever/Lyons Tea plant which stands on a site of 3.256 hectares (8.7 acres).
It adjoins Blindcraft and bounds another site of 4.4 acres also bought from Unilever by Kennedy. He paid €15.5 million for the latter site about three years ago.
