Jurys site value down to planners

AroundtheBlock: Two officials who are hardly household names could well determine the value of the Jurys site in Ballsbridge. Wild valuations are being bandied around, but at the end of the day, it's Sean Carey, Dublin City Council's planning and development manager, and Dick Gleeson, the chief planning officer, who will have the final say on the density that is likely to be permitted on the site of nearly five acres.

This will set the true value on what has been described as the most valuable development site in Ireland.

There has been lots of talk about putting up yet another 32-storey tower (why are they all 32? Is it because of the number of counties in Ireland?) but as any property expert knows, towers are very expensive to build unless they are supported by high density on the rest of the site. The really crucial thing is what kind of general height and density will be allowed in this case. Lansdowne House, built on the opposite side of the road in 1969, stands nine storeys high and could well set the precedent. In fact, it's thought that the planners may insist that all the new buildings on the site should have the same height. On the other hand, they've been traditionally loathe to bulk up Ballsbridge, though they've softened in recent years - witness the overpowering bulk of the Four Seasons and just wait for the enlarged AIB Bankcentre to take shape opposite the RDS.

Gardens hit the jackpot

Colliers Jackson-Stops wants your house, especially if it has a vast garden with development potential. The agency hit the jackpot last week when it got almost €10 million after auction for Santa Maria, a major pile in Dalkey sitting on two acres of garden. The new owner is a local developer who plans to build at least four large houses which will probably hit the market at around €3 million each. He is also likely to refurbish the house and its coach-house and offer them for sale separately. Not surprisingly Nick Crawford of Colliers Jackson-Stops is beating the bushes looking for the next big infill in the area.

IAVI comes up trumps

Reality TV will deliver one of its stars to Dublin next October in the form of Bill Rancic. Who he? This smart young exec was the winner of The Apprentice, the Donald Trump TV show that pitted hapless business people against the master on prime time TV. He'll be in Dublin to talk to members of the IAVI, who have managed to attract several entertaining speakers to their end-of-year bash, called the president's lunch. Last year the redoubtable Robin Cook had the crowd spellbound, after his embarrassing disagreement with Tony Blair over Iraq. Book your ticket now for Rancic, who apparently is so good, Trump has taken him on full-time as an associate.

Hotel suites snapped up

We'd all like to live some of the time in a hotel, and that's just what some people will do. In fact, 16 snapped up apartment suites last weekend at One Beacon in Sandyford, the hotel that forms part of the Beacon mixed-use scheme that will eventually have thousands of residents, a hospital, shops and leisure facilities.

Sherry FitzGerald New Homes got prices between €335,000 and €675,000 for apartments in the hotel, with residents allowed the full use of hotel services.