The sale of Clancy Barracks in Islandbridge, Dublin 8, looks set to make between £20 million and £25 million when it is sold later this year by the Department of Defence. It is primarily zoned for residential development. The Department has invited tenders from property consultants and estate agents interested in handling the sale of the 14-acre site, which runs along the south side of the river Liffey between Heuston Station and Kilmainham.
A Department spokesperson commented that Clancy Barracks is "expected to sell well and easily but we will have to wait and see". The military personnel at Clancy Barracks are to move to the Curragh imminently.
Because of its high profile location two miles west of O'Connell Bridge, the barracks site is likely to generate huge interest among residential developers because of the continuing demand for apartments close to the city centre. Apartments with river views invariably sell for premium prices.
Islandbridge has seen a number of apartment developments in recent years, including the highly successful Riverpark scheme at Conyngham Road built by Capel Developments. On the opposite side of the railway bridge is a large apartment and townhouse development, Bridgewater Quay, built in the early 1990s. The Salmon Pool and Parkgate Place are more recent apartment developments.
The Z1 zoning on the site primarily "protects, provides and improves" residential amenities.
Other permissible uses include educational facilities, enterprise centres, medical and related consultants and neighbourhood shops. Market sources say the white heat has gone out of some site values in the last six months on the back of an increase in the supply of land and the fact that builders are concerned with provisions on social housing and increased building costs. However, given the scarcity of residential land near the city centre, this is unlikely to affect the price achieved for the Clancy Barracks site.
The Department of Defence plans to reinvest proceeds from the sale of six "surplus" barracks in other Defence force installations and in equipment. The strength of the armed forces has fallen from a peak of 14,500 in 1981 to more than 10,000. Of the six, three have been sold: Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co Kildare was sold to Naas UDC for £7 million. One acre was also sold to Kildare County Council for £300,000.
Castleblayney Military Post in Co Monaghan was sold to the North Eastern Health Board for £600,000 and Fitzgerald Camp, Fermoy, Co Cork was sold to Cork County Council for £767,000.
The six barracks are expected to raise a total of £50 million. There are two operational barracks in Dublin - McKee Barracks on Blackhorse Avenue, and Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines.
