Half-care on Shrewsbury Road likely to make a record price

A record price for a residential site is likely to be set next month when part of the grounds of The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, on Shrewsbury Road, Dublin 4, is offered for sale. Gunne Commercial will auction the site of just under half an acre which adjoins the entrance to the Chester Beatty Library. The guide price is pitched at £750,000 - but its value could be closer to £3 million, according to property sources. The site is located beside the access to the Chester Beatty Library, which is scheduled to come on the market next spring when the library's priceless collection of oriental art is to be rehoused in Dublin Castle's Clock Tower.

There is likely to be intense competition for the one-acre Chester Beatty site, which is almost certain to be redeveloped with large houses or apartments. Both properties may well be bought by the same buyer. The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland site, which has over 100 feet of frontage on to Shrewsbury Road, would provide a wider entrance to an overall site, and ensure a higher density for any development. The 0.41-acre site could accommodate up to four large townhouses, which would probably make up to £1.5 million each. Alternatively, it could house 15 to 20 luxury apartments, which would be in great demand because of the prime location. Alternatively, the land may be snapped up by one of Ireland's new multi-millionaires keen to build a mansion from scratch.

Such is the demand for one of the 29 houses on Shrewsbury Road that residents are regularly invited to sell their homes privately for upwards of £2 million. However, values are thought to have taken a considerable leap since the recent sale of the former Japanese Embassy on Ailesbury Road for £2.95 million. That property, which needs considerable refurbishment, was chased by several bidders keen to snap up one of the last development opportunities on Ailesbury Road. Shrewsbury Road is considered a better location and its large period houses, most of which have gardens of up to an acre, are now thought to be worth £3 million to £5 million apiece.

It is difficult to assess values on Shrewsbury Road since the last house to come on the open market sold over two years ago. In May, 1996, Pitcairn, a large detached house needing complete refurbishment, was bought by businessman Des McEvaddy for £1.55 million, a record at that time. Since then, a handful of houses have changed hands privately and the road has become something of a mecca for Ireland's wealthiest business folk. The British Foreign Office has been attempting to buy a large detached house on either Shrewsbury or Ailesbury Road for the British ambassador, once Glencairn is sold next month. However, sources say it has not been successful in locating a house in either road and is now targeting nearby Merrion Road. It is understood the British government is prepared to spend up to £3 million for a detached house on up to half an acre. However, with Ballsbridge prices escalating faster than anywhere else in the city, the foreign office may be forced either to come up with more money or to look further afield to traditional embassy locations such as Foxrock and Killiney.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland's premises had been leased by Trinity College's Faculty of Pharmacy. However, the society now plans to refurbish the large period building for use as a corporate headquarters. The society is also disposing of a large Victorian building at 37 Northumberland Road, which is expected to make in excess of £750,000 when it is auctioned by Gunne on the same day.