Belgian developers eye Clarehall for apartment scheme

Father-son duo Pol and Nielsen Scheerlinck, who head up Search 4 Alpha, an entrepreneurial Belgian real estate investment company, plan to build 217 apartments in buildings rising to 10 storeys beside Clarehall Shopping Centre in Dublin 17.

The proposed mix of accommodation is 28 studio, 43 one-bed, 84 two-bed and 62 three-bed apartments. The Scheerlincks say their aim is to create “a social, progressive building where people of all ages and walks of life can thrive” and as such there is a wide variety of accommodation to facilitate young singles, couples, retirees and families.

The proposed eco-friendly development, dubbed The Clare Gate, plans an array of residents’ facilities, including swimming pool, fitness studio, creche, rooftop common room, concierge, astroturf court and expansive roof gardens totalling 2,236sq m – a list that would rival the best of New York City’s full service buildings.

While the concept is interesting, the practicalities are questionable – namely the chances of a 10-storey development being permissible in this location, where the tallest adjacent buildings, the Clare Village apartments, are four to six storeys in height. Local residents have objected to the plans, along with Fianna Fail TD Seán Haughey and councillor Tom Brabazon, for reasons including its height. Search 4 Alpha made a number of canny purchases in Dublin before the dramatic price surges of recent times.

The company purchased bargain properties from receivers in traditionally less sought after areas, such as Citywest, where they purchased the Round Garden apartments, a 0.82 acre complex which previously formed part of the late Jim Mansfield’s Citywest Hotel complex.

At 13A Church Street in Finglas, they purchased the Fuel Yard, a mixed-use development with 18 apartments and three commercial units for which offers of €1.5 million were sought – less than the site cost alone, which was €2.05 million in 2005.