Developer Francis Rhatigan has acquired a prime 1.65-acre development site in Foxrock, Dublin 18. Springfield House, situated off the Springfield Park cul-de-sac, beside Loreto College, was offered for sale by tender guiding €5 million last year. While the Property Price Register suggests a price of €3 million was achieved, this is most likely only in respect of a portion of the site up to one acre and doesn't reflect the full price paid.
The planning permission secured by the vendors provides for a total of 23 spacious units, comprising seven four-bed terraced houses (184-195sq m), eight three-bed duplexes (126-135sq m), six ground-floor two-bed units (97sq m) and two ground-floor one-bed units (73sq m). Having acquired the site as a ready-to-go development opportunity, it’s likely construction will commence soon as the development, to be known as Westminster Wood, is due to launch in early 2019.
Rhatigan, through his investment vehicles Lota View Holdings and Winterbrook, has become increasingly active, with an apparent focus on high-end developments in upmarket locations. He acquired Charleville, a large building occupying a prime 1.77-acre site on Dalkey's Harbour Road, for about €5.5 million last year. Plans were submitted to construct a high-end apartment scheme on the site with 56 units – however, the project is currently on hold pending a decision from An Bord Pleanála, following a refusal from the local council.
Enniskerry
Elsewhere, in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, Rhatigan is seeking planning permission for a development of 44 houses on Kilgarron Road, about 900m from the village, comprising 22 three-bed semi-detached houses (125sq m) and 22 four-bed houses (172sq m to 191sq m). Designed by Aughey O'Flaherty architects, the proposed houses are barn-like in form and the developer's planning application noted the homes could be ready for sale within two years of receiving a planning grant.
The Springfield House property was acquired by Rhatigan from a consortium of London- and Irish-based investors, who picked it up in 2014 for an undisclosed price and who have likely made significant profits from the site flip. One of the investors, a savvy property investment company based in Dublin, previously turned a large profit on another Dublin 18 development site when a consortium it was involved in acquired and flipped Barrington Tower on leafy Brennanstown Road in Carrickmines. The property was a symbol of the Celtic tiger hubris, having traded hands for about €115,000 back in 1974 and later saw its value skyrocket to €34 million in 2005, when it and its eight acres of land were acquired by a developer. The consortium picked up the property for a knockdown €8 million in 2013 and flipped it to Cairn Homes for €18 million a year and a half later.
