DevelopmentLand: With the demand for well-located residential land in the Dublin area still stronger than ever, the Lisney agency is this week offering for sale by tender three exceptionally good sites.
The most valuable of these will be a ready-to-go site with full planning permission for 50 large apartments at the junction of Sandyford Road and Blackthorn Drive in Dublin 16. Though no guide price is being quoted, bids over €10 million seem likely.
In Howth, a residential site of 1.5 hectares (3.75 acres) with frontages on to both Kitestown Road and Balkill Road, is also expected to make around €12 million when it goes to tender.
Another residential site of 3.85 hectares (9.5 acres) in Delgany, Co Wicklow, is likely to sell for a little less, possibly around €8 million.
The Sandyford site is being sold for Highland Estates which recently secured approval from An Bord Pleanála to replace four houses with a development of 50 apartments.
Lisney suggests that there may be scope for an even higher density scheme on the site of 0.428 hectares (just over one acre). At a selling price of €10 million, costs would work out at about €200,000 per unit.
The planning permission provides for 45 two-bedroom homes with floor areas of over 83.6sq m (900sq ft). The scheme will also include three three-bed apartments and two one-bed units.
The Sandyford area is undergoing major changes at the moment with many of the former office and industrial sites being redeveloped as high density housing.
The trend seems certain to accentuate because of the consistently strong demand for apartments in the area.
Ross Shorten and Maeve Furlong of Lisney are also expecting strong competition for the Howth site which is located in a highly sought-after area with stunning views over Howth Head and the Dublin coastline.
The agent plans to sell the land in two lots, one of them extending to three acres which is zoned for a residential development. The remaining three-quarters of an acre is zoned for open space. The expectation is that the planners will allow a development of apartments or houses on the main site.
The 3.85 hectares (9.5 acres) going for sale on the outskirts of Delgany is accessed via a right of way from Convent Road. It has residential zoning under the Greystones/Delgany Area Plan 1999 which suggested that development should take place at the rate of 2.5 houses per hectare.
At that rate, developers could expect to get nine or 10 large detached homes. However, densities have generally been revised upwards since the development plan was published.
A five-bedroom bungalow on an acre of grounds would sell for around €2 million in the area. Lisney estimates that sites here would easily fetch €800,000 each. The area is well served by the N11 and Dublin commuters can also use the Dart service to Greystones which takes about 50 minutes.
