Plans for a Porterstown mansion – Astagob House goes to auction

Buyers of period properties needing refurbishment and in particular important ones that appear on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage – can be nervous about the many requirements involved in getting planning permission.

In the case of the unusually named Astagob House on Porterstown Road in Dublin 15 that uncertainty has been taken away as the vendors of the substantial detached house dating to about 1870 on 2.4 acres have already secured planning permission from Fingal County Council for a significant renovation.

Astagob House is for auction – a rare event in the Dublin market these times – through Coonan Property on March 28th with an AMV (advised minimum value) of €1.1 million. The property last sold in 2017 for €1 million.

The work – if the buyer adopts the plans as designed by CEA Architects – will bring the floor area of the house from its existing 1,820sq ft (168sq m) to a modern mansion-sized 7,134sq ft (660sq m).

The sales brochure, rather than focusing on the existing house, instead features computer generated imagery and concentrates on what the planning permission allows for. That includes replacing the existing outhouses with two two-storey contemporary style wings to create a courtyard. The plans make space for a gym and a home office with several rooms including a vast kitchen area opening into the courtyard.

If the new buyer wants, the vendor, Séamus Savage of Saffron Properties, will also manage the renovation project, although that is simply an option and not part of the deal.

As the property is on 2.4 acres – exceeding most urban garden requirements – and is well located near St Mochta’s Church and Castleknock village and across from Luttrellstown Castle and Golf Club potential buyers might wonder if further development on the land is possible.

However, agent Willie Coonan says that the planning permission on the land is restricted to the renovation of the house only. He expects that the buyer will be a family looking for a fine house with a large garden – and that the proposed floor area will make it one of the largest homes in the locality.