D4 block down 87% to €1.2 million

THE FALL in property values can be as severe in one of the most sought-after parts of Dublin 4 as in an unfashionable location elsewhere in the city.

The general run of commercial values are down at least 65 per cent from the peak but in a planned sale of a substantial residential building beside RTÉ on Nutley Lane, the guide price is down a full 87 per cent.

Selling agent Knight Frank is quoting a lower than expected €1.2 million for Broc House, a three-storey detached building off Nutley Lane, which was acquired by the State in 2000 for €9.2 million and six years later exchanged with a property developer for discounts totalling €9.05 million on affordable homes in west Dublin.

The block dates from the 1970s, having been built by the Franciscan order to house more than 30 religious students.

It was acquired by the Office of Public Works in 2000 to accommodate refugees but when local residents took their objections to the High Court, the plan was eventually scrapped.

After lying empty for a few years, the OPW was only too happy to be able to offload this expensive property to the Affordable Housing Partnership, a voluntary organisation set up by the State.

In 2006, ownership of Broc House was exchanged with Alanis, a development company controlled by the McCormack family, who arranged for 89 affordable three-bedroom homes at Phibblestown Wood, Ongar, Dublin 15, to be sold at discounted prices between €227,000 and €330,000.

Alanis had originally planned to demolish Broc House and replace it with a high-rise apartment scheme where homes could well have attracted prices of up to €1 million each given that the site is opposite Elm Park golf course.

The banking crisis and the property crash ended that aspiration.

Given that bank funding is still not available for new construction, the odds are that Broc House will now be bought by an investor who will upgrade it and rent it in individual units to nursing staff at the adjoining St Vincent’s Hospital.

The building extends to 1,513sq m (16,285sq ft) and has 31 ensuite bedrooms on the two upper floors. There is scope to install a number of additional bedrooms.

The ground floor has a mixture of reception rooms, offices and kitchens while the basement includes a large function room. The grounds of over half an acre include a two-bedroom bungalow.

Richard Bielenberg of Knight Frank said it was rare for this size of site to come on the market in Dublin 4.