Cullen site for sale in Drumcondra

The financial woes of the former car dealer Bill Cullen continue.

After losing his two motor dealerships at Airside Motor Park, Swords, and Liffey Valley in west Dublin, and watching the appointment of a receiver to his five-star Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney, Co Kerry, the businessman is now faced with the sale of a high-profile redevelopment site beside the Skylon Hotel on Upper Drumcondra Road in Dublin 9.

Wesley Rothwell of CBRE is quoting a guide price of €1.5 million for the Atlas Tyres and Auto Service and the adjoining crèche which are to be sold on the instructions of Michael Hogan of Capital Assets who was appointed receiver.

Cullen's former Renault dealership at Airside was bought by Joe Duffy Motors for €2.65 million, while the Liffey Valley showrooms has just been acquired by motor dealer Frank Keane for around €2.1 million.

Ulster Bank appointed receivers to the two motor dealerships when Cullen reportedly owed around €12 million.

Cullen’s Glencullen Developments is understood to have assembled the 0.27 of a hectare (0.66 of an acre) site on Drumcondra Road in 2006 and 2007 at a cost of €7.8 million. It has 45m of frontage on to the road, one of the busiest in the city because it carries most of the traffic to and from Dublin Airport as well as Belfast.

The property adjoins the extensive grounds of St Patrick’s College and is zoned to “provide for and improve mixed services facilities”.

Planning permission has been granted for the demolition of the existing garage and crèche and the construction of a part two and three-storey mixed-use building to include a restaurant, food store and offices.

The planned scheme was to extend to 3,258sq m (34,658sq ft) and include a 1,350sq m food store, 727sq m of offices, ancillary accommodation and 37 surface car parking spaces.

The single-storey garage currently on the site extends to 590sq m with 16 car parking spaces to the front and the rear yard area. The property is rented by Atlas Tyres and Auto Centre at €66,000 per year.

The two-storey crèche extends to 665sq m and was formerly used as a guesthouse. It is now rented by The Nest Creche and Montessori School at €40,000 per annum.

Rothwell says the property should appeal to both investors and developers because of its high-profile location and short term rental income.