It was expected that student accommodation could be developed on the site.
A governing authority document from 2008 detailed that UCD would “now [have] a site, adjacent to the Belgrove apartments that will enable expansion of these apartments.” Multiple other recommendations at the time claimed that the site could be used to develop Belgrove further.
UCD’s campus development plan 2016-2026, released in August 2016, shows no plans for building on the site. There have also been no planning applications submitted for the site. This is despite extensive plans for new accommodation across campus.
The UCD-owned Roebuck land currently houses a car park. The land acquired by Denis O’Brien from UCD has recently been granted planning permission for luxury apartments. It is estimated that he will make approximately €50 million from the development.
A 2010 report by Sherry Fitzgerald of the transaction stated that they believed O’Brien would “build no more than two houses on the Thornfield site.”
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