Redevelopment Land:The Sisters of St Louis is offering a 5.28-acre site in Rathmines in part exchange for a new school, convent and residential facility, writes Jack Fagan
A group of developers is to be offered the opportunity to redevelop a site of 2.14 hectares (5.28 acres) in Rathmines, Dublin 6, in part exchange for building a new secondary school, convent and a 31-space residential building.
Bannon Commercial has begun marketing the trade off on behalf of the Sisters of St Louis who own the extensive grounds at Charleville Road and Grosvenor Road, two leafy upmarket roads in Rathmines.
"The bottom line is that the sisters want a state-of-the-art school and high quality living accommodation for the order," says Joe Bannon of Bannon Commercial. "Rarely does a site of over five acres in single ownership manifest itself in such a prestigious location."
Bannon Commercial is to conduct a "pre-qualification" exercise before short-listing up to five developers and then running with the preferred bidder.
The Sisters of St Louis is seeking a replacement for the outdated 600-pupil high school which, along with a physical education hall, will extend to 6,048sq m (65,100sq ft). The development will also include a two-level basketball court.
The residential accommodation to be provided for the order will include a convent-style arrangement for 20 sisters and 31 residential units with communal facilities.
As part of the deal, the sisters will hand over to the developer the present convent, Charleville House, as well as three houses at 1, 7 and 8 Grosvenor Road which are listed for preservation. Charleville House accommodates about 25 sisters while a further 27 live in the three houses on Grosvenor Road.
"The number of sisters returning to the Irish region continues to grow and the congregation wishes to consolidate their residential accommodation within the Dublin region on this site," according to the order.
One source suggests that the new school should cost between €12 million and €15 million to build. Because of the need to keep the school open, a new one will probably have to be developed on an adjoining site so as not to interrupt the school year.
The successful developer will be expected to pay a capital premium to the sisters for the right to develop possibly up to three acres of the site which has 290 metres of frontage on to Charleville Road and Grosvenor Road.
The expectation is that the available space will be used for a mixed-use commercial and residential scheme.
The surrounding area is predominantly residential with the exception of Upper Rathmines Road where there is a large mixture of retailers, many of them located in the Swan shopping centre.
