Leading developers to vie for two Dublin housing sites

Many of Dublin's house builders and commercial developers will be in competition for a seven-acre site at Navan Road, Dublin 7, which is expected to make in excess of £1.5 million when it is sold by tender on April 9th. In Stillorgan, there is also likely to be a high level of interest in a three-acre apartment site at Dunstaffanage, on St Brigid's Church Road, off Brewery Road. The site will probably fetch more than £4.5 million when it is sold by Pat Nolan of Hamilton Osborne King.

Paul Newman of Douglas Newman Good is handling the sale of the Navan Road site for the Office of Public Works. It stands at a key location at the junction of the Old Cabra and the New Cabra roads. The site, which has 440 feet of road frontage, would be ideal for a mixed development of retail warehousing and housing. Both uses, along with a light industrial development, can be considered under the city development plan.

However, it is considered likely that the land will be used primarily for townhouses and apartments because of the huge demand for sites close to the city centre. The planners are likely to permit 25 apartments and 10 houses per acre, though the current campaign for higher densities could well have implications for this site. A sliver of adjoining land has been retained by Dublin Corporation for a library.

Another adjoining site of 1.6 acres owned by businessman Mr David Arnold has been earmarked for a neighbourhood retail centre including a supermarket with up to 8,000 sq ft and a 5,000 sq ft restaurant. The development is currently being considered by An Bord Pleanala.

Pat Nolan of Hamilton Osborne King is marketing the Stillorgan site, which is likely to accommodate about 90 apartments. Dunstaffanage is located in one of the most mature areas of Stillorgan, where many of the three and four-bedroom semis, dating from the 1940s and 1950s, are valued at over £250,000.

The value of residential sites in the city has risen sharply in the past three years because of the buoyant new homes market. The next major site due to be offered for sale is 100 acres in the grounds of Blanchardstown Hospital. The Gunne agency will be handling the sale on behalf of the Eastern Health Board.

The price could range between £15 million and £20 million. The sale is expected to take place early this summer.