Rathgar car showroom at €8.5m offers scope for 90 apartments

The combination of a prime residential location and the relative scarcity of land available for development in the immediate Dublin 6 area should see strong interest from developers in the former Murphy & Gunn Hyundai showroom in Rathgar.

Located at the corner of Kenilworth Square South and Rathgar Avenue, it occupies a site of 0.9 acres and is being offered to the market by agent Knight Frank at a guide price of €8.5 million. The sale of the property comes just over three months on from Rohan Holdings’ €7 million purchase of Murphy & Gunn’s former BMW car showroom site in nearby Milltown.

The Rathgar site is zoned objective Z2 Residential Neighbourhoods (conservation area within the current Dublin City Council Development Plan). A feasibility study prepared by Ferreira Architects suggests it could accommodate a scheme of 90 apartments, subject to planning permission. The proposal consists of a linear block that creates a new street edge along Rathgar Avenue of four storeys with a partial fifth-floor setback.

The site currently comprises a car sales showroom, parts and service centre with ancillary office accommodation and secure rear yard which the selling agent believes would command a high existing-use value. The site has significant frontage to Rathgar Avenue (57m), Kenilworth Square South (40m) and Garville Lane (71m) with vehicular access from all three roads.

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The property is situated 2.5km southwest of St Stephen’s Green while the local area benefits from a high level of amenities with Kenilworth Square, Rathgar and Rathmines villages, Palmerston Park and Bushy Park all in close proximity, while Castle Golf Club and Milltown Golf Club are within 2km. There are several schools in this sought-after residential area.

Commenting on the opportunity the sale of the Rathgar site represents, James Meagher and Finín O’Driscoll of Knight Frank say: There is both a significant dearth and unprecedented demand for high-density residential sites of this nature in accessible, high-quality locations. Given the site’s scale and strategic Dublin 6 location, coupled with the adoption of the Urban Development and Building Heights guidelines, we believe this represents one of the finest residential development opportunities to come to the Dublin market in recent times.”