Nadine Cosgrave, a member of the Cosgrave building family, is planning to redevelop a large period house in Ranelagh. The detached house at 9 Leeson Park occupies over a third of an acre with a southwest-facing rear garden and is one of the finest properties on the road, which is long regarded as the best address in the area.
Under plans recently submitted to Dublin City Council the existing period structure, currently in use as offices, would be converted back to residential use and three new houses, each with three storeys and two-three bedrooms would be constructed in the rear garden. Ranging in size from 132sq m to 169sq m (1,420sq ft to 1,820sq ft), each of the substantial mews houses is likely to command a seven-figure sum judging by the asking price of a nearby mews house at Berystede, off Leeson Park, which is seeking €850,000 for 92sq m (€9,240/sq m).
A number of objections against Cosgrave’s plans were lodged by neighbours, however Dublin City Council has sought further information regarding the proposed development prior to making a final decision.
Good potential
While the property has good potential, there is another commercial property on the street that trumps it. The Molyneux Asylum, a 1,105sq m (11,900sq ft) granite-faced building on a 0.74 acre site, was offered for sale in November 2014 seeking €1.5 million and sold a few months later for more than double that figure to an unidentified purchaser.
The Block understands that the buyer was Esprit Investments, the property investment and development company founded by Eric Kinsella, which owns a number of prime Dublin properties. Esprit has not submitted a planning application to redevelop the property since buying it, but it has been busy developing its new office block, Waterways House on Grand Canal Quay, which is due for completion shortly. The period structure would accommodate several large apartments, so perhaps Esprit plans to turn its attention to redeveloping the prime property following the completion of Waterways House.
