The Office of Public Works (OPW) and Eircom have sold the 9.6-acre Westgate site in west Dublin to a firm of developers for almost €80 million.
The site, which is located near Heuston station in Kilmainham, already has planning permission for a range of residential and commercial developments. It is thought that Eircom has retained a section of the site to develop its own corporate headquarters.
Once Eircom's share of the sale is taken out, the State will be left with almost €45 million.
The sale was made under the Government's Transforming State Assets programme and the overall price was €20 million more than the original guide price. The sale was welcomed yesterday by the Department of Finance. "This sale represents excellent value for money for the State," said Minister of State Tom Parlon. "A disused brown-field site has been transformed into almost €45 million for the State on this occasion."
Westgate is predicted to do for the western end of the city what the IFSC did for the eastern edge more than a decade ago. It is a 3.9 hectare (9.6-acre) site bordering the gardens of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, St John's Road and Military Road.
The site, which overlooks the River Liffey, has full planning permission for a mixed-use scheme that includes office space, retail outlets, apartments, a new building for the Irish Museum of Modern Art and a hotel.
It was sold by tender to Rhatigan Commercial Developments Ltd for €79,263,000.
"As a result of the transaction, the State has realised €44,916,500 from a site that will now be transformed into a vibrant new living and working district bringing life to the Heuston area of the city," said Mr Parlon.
A spokesman for the OPW said that some of the money from the sale has been earmarked for current OPW projects, including the purchase of sites under the Government's programme of decentralisation.