Mother Redcaps site to make €11m

UrbanRedevelopmentA half-acre site in the heart of old Dublin with planning for a mixed apartment/commercial development is expected to sell for over €11 million. It was withdrawn from the market four years ago when offered as a site with planning for offices.

The site, the former Mother Redcaps market and tavern, illustrates the continued strength of offerings suited to apartment development. The property, offered with vacant possession, will be sold by public tender on Wednesday June 1st at noon unless previously sold.

The landmark property sits in one of the oldest parts of the city, and the old city wall forms part of the rear boundary of the site.

It lies at the junction of John Dillon Street, Back Lane and Lamb Alley and has frontage onto Back Lane, which links Patrick Street with High Street, and Lamb Alley.

This puts it within a short walk of most of the south inner city, its shops, restaurants and pubs. It is also close to the Iveagh Market which is soon to be redeveloped to include a new 90-bedroom four-star hotel with a health centre.

The area generally has undergone something of a transformation in recent years. New developments in recent years have included La Rochelle, Cornmarket and Swift Hall.

The Digital Hub is within a kilometre of the site and the scheme is designated to provide for a new urban link between Merrion Square and the Guinness Brewery.

The site extends to an area of about 0.59 acres (0.24ha) and has full planning permission for a scheme of 67 apartments in a five-storey complex, two townhouses, five retail units and a public house/restaurant. The retail units range in size from 44-124sq m (474-1,334sq ft).

The residential element includes two one-bedroom apartments, 14 one-bedroom penthouses, 40 two-bedroom apartments and 10 two-bedroom duplex units in two blocks.

There will also be one three-bedroom apartment and two two-bedroom townhouses.

Apartment prices are expected to range from about €275,000 for a one-bed, €345,000 for a two-bed and €360,000 for the three-bedroom unit, according to Mr Tim Scannell for joint selling agents, Lambert Smith Hampton.

"It is in old Dublin and is in an area that will develop well over time," he says. No guide is offered but he expects it to sell for "in excess of €11 million".

The last time it reached the market at tender, Mother Redcaps did not fare so well. It failed to sell with a guide of €11.4 million in July 2001 and then again in September of that year with a reduced quote of €10.79 million.

"At the time it was brought to the market, it was offered initially as an office development. It was a different proposition altogether," says Mr Scannell.

Then it was on offer with existing tenants, including the pub, but now reaches the market with vacant possession. "We have planning for a scheme that includes apartments, restaurant and retail units."

The owners held onto the property, going back for the revised planning, he says. "The planning process takes too long now." The change from offices to apartments mirrors similar alterations to planning applications elsewhere in the city and environs. Sandyford in south Dublin has seen a number of planning changes of this type, for example the MJ Flood site.

The common feature of all of these typically is ease of access to transport, as in Sandyford, or access to central Dublin by foot. Joint agents for the property are DTZ Sherry FitzGerald and Tim Scannell of Lambert Smith Hampton.