A key site next to the busy Tesco-owned Clarehall shopping centre on the Malahide Road in Dublin 17, which was sold during the property boom to developer Paddy Shovlin for over €30 million, is back on the market with a guide price of €2.5–€2.75 million.

Jonathan Preston of Savills is handling the sale on behalf of Aiden Murphy of Crowe Horwath, who was appointed received by Danske Bank.

The premises originally traded as Crossan Motors and Albany Homes' Clare Village and was sold to Shovlin around 2006. He subsequently secured planning permission for a high-rise, mixed-use development which included 190 apartments, offices and a basement car park. The permission has since expired.

The high-profile site extends to 2.68 acres and includes a Topaz petrol filling station currently producing a rent of €70,000 under a short term letting. There are also around 1,450sq m of vacant buildings and yards which were used up to recently as a car showrooms and workshop.

The property is effectively an island site with 230m of road frontage and three access points. Its Z14 zoning as a strategic development area will give new owners a range of options including a mixed-use scheme of residential, neighbourhood shopping, restaurant, office, medical centre and petrol station.

Preston said they had already registered interest in the site which he expected to appeal to a broad market because of the exceptional location, the potential for a mixed retail and residential development and the fact that it was already producing a significant income.

It will be no surprise if the site is bought by a petrol distribution company who would have the option of retaining the petrol sales area and selling off the remainder of the property.