Agent Cushman & Wakefield is guiding a price of €10 million for a rare development opportunity at Merrion Square in Dublin city centre.
Located one building away from the junction with Fitzwilliam Street Lower, the Merrion Square Collection comprises several properties extending across a total area of 1,731sq m (18,634sq ft) and sits on a 0.16-hectare (0.4-acre) site. The properties in question are 54 Merrion Square, Clifton House, Clifton Hall, Clifton Mews, the car park at Clifton House and a portion of the rear yard of 55 Merrion Square.
The subject property is in use as a serviced office known as Clifton House Business Centre and is Dublin’s longest serving provider in this area. The scheme is 70 per cent occupied at present, with a total rent roll of about €404,000. All tenancies have been drawn up by way of licence agreement, with term lengths of one to 24 months with vacant possession obtainable upon the conclusion of these.
The subject site has dual frontage on to Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Street Lower. The property’s car park can also be accessed via Fitzwilliam Street Lower with an additional access point off Fitzwilliam Lane.
Shay Cleary Architects has completed a feasibility study on the property, and this highlights the site’s potential for the development of a luxury hotel, office or residential scheme subject to planning permission. The scheme, which is within a conservation area, has been designed with regards to the existing streetscape and surrounding Georgian buildings.
The buildings’ heights would range between three and five storeys while the scheme would extend to between 4,457sq m (47,974sq ft) and 4,946sq m (53,238sq ft). There may be scope to increase the proposed development’s height, however, with the newly developed 26/27 Fitzwilliam Street Lower rising to seven storeys and setting a precedent for the immediate area.
The Merrion Square Collection occupies a prime location within Dublin’s Georgian core and sits close to high-profile buildings and visitor attractions including Leinster House, the National Gallery of Ireland and the Merrion Hotel. The property also has the benefit of public transport links, with Pearse railway and Dart station less than a 10-minute walk across Merrion Square. The Luas green-line stop at St Stephen’s Green is a short walk away. There are also Dublin Bus routes at the property’s front door.
“Value-add opportunities of this scale and in locations such as Merrion Square are extremely rare. The variety of uses proposed for the site, along with its existing income, makes this a very attractive proposition for an array of purchasers,” Paul Nalty and Dave McCarthy, of Cushman & Wakefield, say.
