The Westmeath-based Bennett family are, of course, no strangers to property development. Their Bennett Construction group is one of the biggest names in construction and as partners in the Targeted Investment Opportunities (TIO) fund, they are among the most active developers in Dublin.
The individual family members are also involved in a number of developments in a personal capacity in some of Dublin’s most coveted locations.
Jim and Stephen Bennett, who now head up Bennett Construction, have planning permission to refurbish an existing house at 91 Belmont Avenue in Donnybrook, Dublin 4 and to develop four new substantial detached houses on its grounds.
The property is owned by their investment vehicle, Trussville. Last for sale on the open market in the headier days of 2007, €15 million was sought for the period house on 0.65 acres through Lisney and it is understood to have been purchased by Capital D Property.
The Bennetts acquired the site in late 2013, when it appeared in the property price register as having sold for just €900,000; however, this figure may have only been in relation to the main house itself, a protected structure, and a portion of the garden to the rear, as opposed to the entire site.
Large house
Two of the new homes will extend to 252sq m (2,700sq ft) with five bedrooms, while a third, fronting on to Belmont Avenue, will have about 225sq m (2,420sq ft) of space and four bedrooms; all three will have southwesterly private rear gardens.
One exceptionally large house, extending to 765sq m (8,230sq ft), with a separate carport, roof terraces and gardens of about half an acre, has also been granted permission.
While there is no established market for a home of that scale, this is likely to be of little concern to the Bennetts as they intend to retain it as a family home for Jim Bennett, who currently lives nearby.
This new house will be among the best – and largest – modern homes in Dublin 4 once completed. About 0.4 acres of the land on which the largest house will be constructed did not form part of the original 91 Belmont Avenue property but were acquired separately, having previously been disused land owned by Muckross Park College.
Elsewhere, Rivertempus, the luxury property development company established in 2013 by former Bennett Construction managing director John Bennett, has plans to demolish two detached houses, Kinvara and Kinros, which are located off Foxrock’s Leopardstown Road. He hopes to accommodate nine new houses in their place.
Rivertempus delivered another luxury infill scheme named Forgney on Blackrock’s Grove Avenue last year, where asking prices were in excess of €2 million. The company is also constructing a 278sq m (2,990sq ft)mews dwelling at the junction of Elgin Road and Raglan Lane in Ballsbridge.
