Developer Ray Grehan unveils his plans for Ballsbridge - and buys a €38m residential site in Howth. Edel Morganreports.

Property developer Ray Grehan has had a busy week. As well as submitting plans to Dublin City Council for an office and residential scheme with a 15-storey element in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 he is believed to have bought the Techcrete Ireland site in Howth, Co Dublin, for a reported €38 million.

In Ballsbridge, Grehan, who is managing director of Glenkerrin Homes, is proposing a 15-storey tower for the former UCD Veterinary College site.

Number 1 Ballsbridge would comprise nearly 40,000sq m (430,000sq ft) with 109 apartments which Grehan says will "raise the bar for current Irish standards".

The residential tower would overlook a newly created square in the centre of the development and there would be three office buildings, including a glazed eight-storey headquarters with an atrium fronting onto Shelbourne Road.

The highest street-facing building would be a nine-storey office block facing onto Pembroke Road. A new street, New Pembroke Street would link Shelbourne Road and Pembroke Road, and there would be cafés, 2,787sq m (30,000sq ft) of speciality shops and 18,580sq m (200,000sq ft) of offices.

The building heights sought by Grehan in his planning application are lower than expected by some industry sources , given the €171.5 million he paid for the site.

However his planning application comes two months after councillors voted against a local area plan which would have allowed building heights of up to 22 storeys. There is speculation that Sean Dunne, who owns the adjacent Jury's Doyle/Berkeley Court site will submit plans to Dublin City Council at the end of this month which may include a proposal for a tower of over 30 storeys.

It is believed that developers in the area are interpreting the current zoning as having no height restrictions.

Grehan is believed to have acquired the Techcrete site on the edge of Howth village for nearly €20 million less than the €55 million it was expected to fetch when it came to the market in June. It has mixed use zoning and could potentiallly accommodate over 300 apartments, as well as shops and a hotel.

Located between the Dublin Road in Howth and the Dart line, the 0.36 hectares (5.83 acre) site has uninterrupted views over the harbour to Ireland's Eye and Lambay Island.