Another landmark Co Dublin hotel is to be redeveloped as a mixed office/apartment/industrial development to take advantage of the buoyant property market and higher densities currently being approved by planning authorities.

The plans for the St Lawrence Hotel, which overlooks the harbour at Howth, reflect the success of similar redevelopments, such as the Dalkey Island Hotel on the city's south side and Cliff House on Bray Head.

According to plans recently lodged with Fingal County Council, the redeveloped St Lawrence will also incorporate a 22-bedroom hotel above a basement car-park for more than 120 cars.

The application, in the name of Peninsula BS Ltd, envisages the demolition of the existing hotel, which was a popular wedding venue for generations of Dubliners. It closed at the end of the summer.

The proposed three and four-storey buildings would include a three-storey office block, a facility for light industry and 14 apartments in another three-storey building. The four-storey, 22-bedroom hotel will incorporate a restaurant and lounge bar. The basement car-park is to be accessed by ramps from Harbour Road, and the entire development will be landscaped.

The apartments should command premium prices for north Dublin, given their location close to the DART and overlooking the marina in the sought-after village of Howth.

Penthouses in the scheme built on the site of the former Dalkey Island Hotel have recently gone on the market with price tags of £1.7 million.

While the apartments in the St Lawrence scheme might not be expected to cost this much, well-finished penthouses with good views could be expected to achieve £1 million each at today's prices.

The former Cliff House Hotel on Bray Head is another hotel that was converted to residential accommodation, after a brief period as a nursing home and a mountain adventure centre. Again, spectacular marine views were a major selling point, commanding premium prices.