811 apartment plan lodged for St Vincent’s site in Fairview

Hospital board will hand over 13 acres to British developer in return for new €50m mental health unit

An aerial view of the lands at St Vincent’s Hospital in Fairview, shows their close proximity to Dublin city centre

Plans for an 811-apartment scheme on the grounds of St Vincent’s hospital in Fairview in Dublin 3 have been lodged with the city council.

The €300 million scheme for the hospital site is to be mainly made up of the apartments, built across nine blocks rising from two to 13 storeys in height.

The Large Scale Residential Development (LRD) scheme comprises 494 apartments for sale along with 317 build to rent units at Richmond Road and Convent Avenue, Fairview.

The scheme on the 9.5 hectare (23.4 acre) site is being developed by Royalton Group, a British property development firm, in partnership with the board of the hospital, and a 10 year planning permission is being sought from the Council.

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Under the terms of the deal, Royalton will build a new 73-bedroom mental health facility for the hospital, which is currently located in a listed building that is more than 100 years old.

The new hospital is expected to cost around €50 million to build. To fund the project, the board is to transfer around five hectare (13 acres) of undeveloped land on the campus to Royalton for the apartment scheme plan.

Architects for the scheme, Scott Tallon Walker, say the application provides the opportunity for “new, high-density housing on underutilised land and to fully fund the construction of the new hospital and the refurbishment and reuse of the protected structures”.

As a result of its Part V social housing obligations, the developers are planning to sell 174 apartments – or 21 per cent of the total – to Dublin City Council and have put an indicative price tag of €87.72 million on the units.

Mullaghmore six-bed with stunning sea views for €950,000Opens in new window ]

Documentation lodged shows that the average cost of the units for the council will be €504,189. One three-bed apartment has an indicative cost of €802,23 with other three-bed apartments costing €795,164. The cost of a two-bed apartment rises to €677,480 while a one-bed can cost €414,281.

A final price on the units will be agreed with the council if and when the scheme secures planning permission.

Planning consultant for the scheme, John Spain told the council the lands “are ideally located for a sustainable mixed use development, which provides a new hospital, providing mental health services, supporting residential development and significant public open space, in an inner suburban location”.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times