Denis O’Brien linked to proposed development near UCD

Another luxury apartment looks set to hit Dublin 4 as Purleigh Holdings, an offshore company associated with Denis O'Brien, has submitted a planning application to redevelop a site in Donnybrook's Greenfield Park. In 2010 it was reported that the 1.35 hectare Greenfield site was swapped with UCD for land beside the university's Belgrove student residences and a reported €12.5 million in cash.

Purleigh applied in 2011 to demolish some of the structures on the site and is now seeking permission to demolish the remaining outhouses and construct five apartment blocks extending in size to more than 11,000sqm (120,000sqft).

Seventy one apartments are envisaged, including 56 two-bedroom, 14 three-bedroom and 1 four-bedroom apartment. The development would include a concierge office, 106 parking spaces and 110 bicycle spaces if granted permission. Architects de Blacam and Meagher have designed the new scheme. They worked previously with O’Brien on projects such as LXV, his new office block on St Stephen’s Green, and also on his residential properties on Shrewsbury Road and Raglan Road.

Greenfield Park is one of south Dublin’s most desirable enclaves. A 110sqm apartment recently placed for sale in Greenfield Manor, located beside the proposed development, is asking €625,000 (€5,682/sqm) – a strong price for a dated, 40-year-old unit, but well below the prices sought by developers for newly constructed apartments.

After leaving the site untouched for years, O’Brien’s decision to develop comes just in time for the revival of Dublin 4’s booming luxury apartment market. A number of recent sales by the canal have commanded prices of as much as €11,600/sqm. However, with an estimated 700 luxury units either earmarked for development or already under construction in D4, including O’Brien’s proposal, the mystery of who will buy all of these apartments at million-plus prices remains unanswered.