Sandyford site for 459 apartments guiding €36m

A high-profile south Dublin site with planning permission for 459 apartments directly opposite Stillorgan Luas stop in Sandyford Estate is expected to attract Irish and overseas bidding when it is offered for sale later this week.

Agent Cushman & Wakefield is guiding €36 million for the 3.81 acres in Sandyford Central, which previously belonged to Cork developer John Fleming and is now being sold on the instructions of receivers Duff & Phelps and the State agency Nama.

Like most other apartment developments in the pipeline, this one has the potential for considerably more residential units – perhaps as many as 539 – because of new planning guidelines.

The five-year planning permission was granted in July for a development of 459 apartments across six blocks ranging from five to 14 storeys, with shared residential games rooms, kitchens and meeting rooms together with a gym, yoga studio, crèches and office suite. An underground parking facility already approved is designed to cater for 454 cars and 516 bicycle spaces.

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Development opportunities

The development guidelines have since changed quite radically and the new “build to rent” formula endorsed by architects Henry J Lyons is now expected to open the way for the higher figure of 539 apartments, though with considerably fewer car-parking spaces – a maximum of 160 parking slots.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, considering the weight of funds currently chasing development opportunities in the private rented sector, the site will appeal to traditional residential developers and investment operators with an appetite to add a significant asset to their portfolios.

Donal Kelleher of Cushman & Wakefield said the scale of the project would be a significant step in Sandyford’s journey towards a fully vibrant, self-sustained urban quarter.

The apartments planned for the Sandyford Central site, he added, are certain to be in constant demand due to their close proximity to Beacon South Quarter and large employers such as Microsoft, Vodafone, AIB and Salesforce.