By far (or by height) the most unusual lot in the upcoming three-day BidX1 online auction is the Shanagarry Chimney in Dublin's Milltown.
The last remaining structure of the Old Dublin Laundry, it stands – all 28.6m of it – in its redbrick, industrial-age glory in the Dodder linear park in Milltown, right beside the Nine Arches viaduct. It is lot 316 in the commercial auction on June 1st, with the tantalising reserve of €35,000.
If prospective buyers aren’t carried away by the romance of owning such an extraordinary historical structure, the more commercially minded will be drawn to a whopping current yield of 40 per cent. That’s because while it is now a fine nesting spot for the local herons, it is also a communications mast for what is now the Three mobile service, which pays €13,880 a year for it – in a deal that began in 2000 and is set to run until September 2020. The chimney last changed hands in the 1960s, when the laundry properties were sold off.
Residential property
The commercial auction has 75 lots but the residential one is so big – at 313 lots – it will run over two days, May 30th and 31st. Some interesting holiday home investments include lot 279, comprising 11 holiday homes in Bantry, Co Cork, with a €1 million reserve, and lot 260, comprising 15 homes in Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny, a mix of one- and two-bed apartments and a house; the reserve is €750,000.
There are some fine fixer-uppers including two in Rathmines, Nos 13 and 64 Grosvenor Square, reserved at €840,000 and €800,000 respectively. Lot 321 will pique the interest of small developers, given its prime Malahide location and the obvious potential of two sites with planning permission for four houses (two partially built) on Coast Road. The reserve there is €800,000.
About 25 per cent of the residential properties are apartments, some vacant, others with tenants. Apartments in Dublin’s south city have the highest reserves, with a one-bed at Gallery Quay in Docklands topping the chart at €350,000 and a two-bed in the IFSC at €315,000.
See BidX1.com
