Development Sites: There should be strong interest for an apartment site in Sandymount and a hotel and apartment site in Ballymun. Jack Fagan, Property Editor, reports
With most Dublin-based developers continuously on the look out for well-located sites, there should be intense competition for an apartment site in Sandymount, Dublin 4, and a hotel and apartment site in Ballymun which are to be sold next month.
GVA Donal O Buachalla expects to secure in excess of €9 million for a site of 0.37 hectares (0.9 of an acre) at Sandymount Avenue which goes to tender on July 28th. It is being sold on behalf of Enable Ireland which plans to use the proceeds to fund new capital investment programmes.
Many of the city's top housebuilders are expected to pitch for the Sandymount Avenue plot which should qualify for a high density scheme given its proximity to transport services - it is within 300 metres of the Sandymount DART station and about 600 metres from the Merrion Road which has a regular bus service into the city centre.
The site has 44 metres of frontage on to Sandymount Avenue and could accommodate up to 70 apartments. The zoning for the site would allow not only a residential scheme but also a hotel, medical service or an educational facility.
Any developer who harboured doubts about the viability of redeveloping Ballymun as a lively, modern precinct is likely to take a different view today after the huge success of a number of apartment and commercial schemes in recent months. New apartment developments have sold exceptionally well, helped in most cases by valuable tax breaks. There has also been considerable competition for retail opportunities in the new town.
The strong image portrayed by these successes should ensure an early sale by Ballymun Regeneration Ltd of three plots with a total area of 0.99 hectares (2.5 acres). There is already planning permission for a 77-bedroom hotel, an office building of 4,607 sq m (49,590 sq ft) and retail units facing on to Main Street with a floor area of 2,582 sq m (27,792 sq ft). There is permission, too, for 2,224 sq m (23,939 sq ft) of retail or work space on Coultry Road and 101 apartments with Section 23 tax incentives.
The offices along Main Street and the retail/workspace on Coultry Road have to handed over to Ballymun Regeneration at a fixed price.
Hugh Markey of Lisney says: "??????"
The overall site is strategically located on one side of the proposed new civil plaza on Main Street, immediately to the north of the new civic offices. Submissions from developers are to be with Ballymun Regeneration by July 23th.
