ONE OF THE inevitable consequences of the collapse in the housing market will be the sale of many development sites, particularly in provincial areas.
A site of 3.9 hectares (9.6 acres) at Sallins, Co Kildare, is one of the first to come on the market this autumn and should make around €4 million, according to joint selling agents CB Richard Ellis and Sherry FitzGerald O’Reilly.
The land was acquired in 2004 by Red Thorn Developments which subsequently secured planning permission for 116 apartments and houses.
Earlier this year Anglo Irish Bank appointed Martin Ferris as receiver to the company and he has now opted to proceed with the resale of the property which is only 200 metres from the centre of the village.
It is also close to the local railway station, part of the Arrow rail link which operates regular services between Sallins and Heuston Station – a journey that takes 20 minutes.
At an asking price of €4 million, the price would work out at just under €34,500 a unit – a long way short of the going rate of almost €100,000 per unit at the peak of the property boom.
The planning decision for the site, approved by An Bord Pleanála, provides for 116 residential units comprising 56 houses, 24 duplex homes and 36 apartments as well as a creche.
The joint selling agents say that whoever buys the land may develop part of the approved scheme and look at a different concept for the remainder of the site.
Alternatively, they may decide to go for an entirely new scheme given the precedents for high density developments beside local transport hubs.
Sallins has been one of the most vibrant urban centres in Co Kildare over the past decade, outdoing larger towns, such as Kilcock, which has been in steady decline for many years.
