ReligiousLand: With new development opportunities in the Sandymount area of Dublin 4 now quickly running out, there is likely to be strong competition for an apartment site of 0.51 hectares (1.26 acres) which is to be sold at tender on June 23rd.

GVA Donal O Buachalla expects to secure over €14 million for the plot off Gilford Road which is being sold for the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa.

It is likely to accommodate between 55 and 60 apartments per acre, according to the agents.

The infill site is particularly well located close to both Sandymount village and Ballsbridge.

The land includes a modern two-storey house of 304sq m (3,272sq ft) which will be demolished to make way for a high density apartment scheme.

The main access to the scheme will be off Sandymount Castle Park.

The agents say that planning consents for similar sites in the Sandymount area suggests permitted densities are in the region of 150 per hectare.

This includes the 1.5-acre former Teagasc headquarters which was recently sold on to Woodgreen Property Partnership in conjunction with John G Burns.

Development work has just begun on this site where planning permission has been granted for apartments.

Most of Dublin's top apartment developers are likely to pitch for the Gilford Road site because, even if there is a slowdown in out-of-town apartment sales, the market in Dublin 4 is expected to remain strong due to the availability of 50-year low mortgages.

O Buachalla predicts that two-bedroom apartments off Gilford Road are likely to make up to €700,000 each, a price that seems on the optimistic side in a market where there is a plentiful supply of both new and second-hand homes.

The Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa say the disposal of the Sandymount property is necessary in order to provide nursing care and facilities for ageing and infirm sisters returning from missionary work in Africa.

"The duty of care for elderly sisters will be a vital ministry in the years ahead. The sisters will continue to live at the remainder of their Sandymount property."

The order is involved in mission work in Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa.