Two Kildare-based developers, Killross Properties and Springwood, have paid more than €5 million for the “Castletown lands”, a 95-hectare (235-acre) landbank in Celbridge. The sale of the lands was brokered by agent Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of Janus Securities Ltd.
Situated immediately adjacent to the landmark Castletown House and its demesne, which is owned by the State and open to the public under the auspices of the OPW, the “Castletown lands” are predominantly zoned Objective F – Open Space and Amenity under the Celbridge Local Area Plan 2017-2023. The remaining portion of the site is zoned GB – Green Belt. The lands are designated within a Historical Landscape Area and have mostly been in agricultural use for several years.
The buyers of the landbank are family-owned property firms based in Straffan, Co Kildare. Both companies have a long history of developing residential and commercial schemes in north Kildare.
Commenting on their acquisition of the Castletown lands, Lar McKenna, director in Killross Properties Ltd said: “This provides an exceptional opportunity to create substantial employment and leisure amenities in north Kildare, given the lands’ prime location near Castletown House, Intel’s Collinstown campus, the neighbouring Kildare Innovation Campus (formerly the Hewlett Packard facility) and the M4 motorway. The location positions the land at the centre of opportunities for north Kildare.”
Paul Nalty of Cushman & Wakefield said: “The disposal of this substantial land parcel follows a highly competitive bidding process, which underpins the demand for the strategic acquisition of lands on the periphery of established towns. Killross and Springwood are an excellent purchaser for this prime asset, especially given their local expertise and knowledge of the area.”
