Landmark 25-acre D4 site to make over €300 million

South Wharf in Ringsend is one of the best sites to come on the market in Dublin city for decades, writes Jack Fagan

One of the last opportunities to create a significant new city quarter between the centre of Dublin city and Dublin Bay is now on the market with the forthcoming sale of the 10-hectare (25-acre) South Wharf site at Ringsend, Dublin 4.

The joint owners have apparently agreed not to sell it for less than €260 million but, given the huge potential of the site on the edge of Sandymount, it will be no surprise if it breaks the €300 million mark. Either way, it will still probably exceed the €260 million paid by developer Sean Dunne for the two Jurys sites in Ballsbridge. The Jurys deal was believed to be the largest in the State's history.

Formerly the Irish Glass Bottle manufacturing facility beside Sean Moore Park, the land is being sold by tender on October 25th. The joint agents are Jones Lang LaSalle and Hamilton Osborne King.

Shareholders in South Wharf Plc are to receive 66.4 per cent of the proceeds of the sale with the balance going to Dublin Port Company. The share-out follows the resolution of a long running dispute between the two groups over the facility.

The joint selling agents say that it is "without doubt the most important site this close to the city centre to become available in recent decades". They say that, while other successful dockland developments have had to create their own residential ambience, this site is alongside the long-established and highly-valued residential areas of Sandymount and Ballsbridge.

The landbank is separated from the waterfront by a 10-acre site owned by developer Liam Carroll of Danninger who recently secured planning permission for a substantial mixed-use scheme. Inevitably, he will be among those pitching for the Glass Bottle site but he is likely to face competition from large investment groups and development consortia which have emerged in the last few years.

The site will be the location for one of the last major developments in a string of new city quarters alongside the River Liffey from the IFSC. These new city quarters have had a major impact on Ireland's economic development over the last 15 years.

As well as the IFSC, they include Spencer Dock and the Point Depot area on the northern bank of the river and Grand Canal Harbour on the south bank with its upmarket housing and top-end office occupants, like some of the country's major law firms and Google.

Current zoning allows for a similar successful mix of uses on the South Wharf site, including residential, offices, retail and leisure, and the opportunity for high rise buildings and high densities.

Plans, such as the Poolbeg Framework Plan 2003 and the Dublin South Bank Strategic Development Framework 2002, recommend a predominantly residential development with a tall landmark building with "flagship" characteristics.

The site has the potential to provide more than 185,806sq m (2 million sq ft) of buildings at six to eight storeys high.

"The development of this site will be one of the largest ever development projects in the State and is probably the largest single landbank to come on the market in Dublin 4 since the building of the RDS decades ago," according to the agents. "The scale, location and zoning of this site is an opportunity to transform this area of the city into a gateway with signature landmark buildings."

Strategically placed between the city centre and the best inner city suburb, the site is ideally suited as a place to live or to work. It is within 3kms of the city centre, on the edge of Sandymount, in the city's best postal address, Dublin 4, on Dublin Bay overlooking Sandymount Strand, and within easy access of major transport routes between the city centre and the suburbs.

It is adjacent to the East Link toll bridge, the Point Depot and the planned U2 Tower. It is also within easy access by road of the major southern - and, via the East Link, the northern - suburbs around Dublin Bay. In addition, it is within 10 minutes walk of Dart stations at Lansdowne Road and Grand Canal Harbour and of the planned extension of the Luas to the Point Depot.

The acquisition of the property will be by way of participation in a scheme of arrangement under the Companies Acts which, once approved, will allow the successful bidder to gain control of 100 per cent of South Wharf Plc.