Key Cabra plot for 419 apartments on sale for €32m

The construction campaign to offset Dublin's housing shortage continues to gain momentum. Marlet Property Group, already involved in several major developments in Dublin, has decided to sell on a key site in the north Dublin suburb of Cabra with planning permission for 419 apartments, a house and a range of commercial and community facilities.

Selling agent Savills is guiding in excess of €32 million for the 9.63-acre site 3km northwest of the city centre. The new homes will be within 600m of Cabra's Luas Green line station, which provides access to the city centre as well as the docklands and south Dublin, including Dundrum and Sandyford.

Marlet is already involved in several major property developments around Dublin city, including two sites at Harold’s Cross and St Claire’s at Mount Argus, where it is building about 500 apartments. Building operations are also continuing at Lime Street and Cardiff Lane, where around half a million sq ft of offices are to be developed along with several hundred apartments.

In March, An Bord Pleanála granted Marlet planning permission for what it regarded as a Strategic Housing Development in Cabra with a layout of seven blocks up to eight storeys in height. There will be 93 one-bedroom apartments in all as well as 260 two-beds and 66 three-beds.

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There will also be one three-bedroom house at the entrance to the site as well as a convenience supermarket with an off-licence, an office, community centre, creche and parking for up to 402 cars and 484 bicycles.

A number of feasibility studies undertaken by Henry J Lyons Architects on the proposed changes in building regulations governing apartment construction and the easing of height restrictions and other rules suggest it should be feasible to increase the density on the Cabra site to close to 600 apartments.

John Swarbrigg of Savills said the Dublin 7 site is exceptionally well-located close to the Luas and Dublin city centre. Given the significant scale of the development, he added, it would suit both the ownership and rental markets.

The latest data had shown that the vacancy rate in Dublin’s private rental sector has been below 2 per cent for more than four years.