A long-standing demand for high-quality apartments in the affluent Mount Merrion area of south Dublin looks set to be realised with the planned sale of the Flanagan Kerins furniture showroom and its replacement by 48 spacious apartments and four office suites.
Planning approval has also been sought for a second development of 50 apartments and a pavilion-style bar on the adjoining Union Café site following its purchase by property developer Paddy McKillen jnr.
The Lisney agency will seek €7.5 million for the furniture sales rooms on 0.34 of a hectare (0.84 of an acre) on Deerpark Road, which has been earmarked for redevelopment for decades to facilitate young couples and others downsizing from large family homes.
The planned six-storey development with superb views over the city, Dublin Bay and the grounds of UCD will include parking facilities for 92 cars as well as electric charging points for cars at lower ground level.
The apartments will be larger than usual, with floor areas of 61sq m (660sq ft) for the 10 one-bedroom units; 89sq m (957sq ft) for the 27 two-beds; and 110sq m (1,188sq ft) for the nine three-beds. There will also be two penthouses extending to 148sq m (1,600sq ft).
The site is located in the centre of Mount Merrion adjacent to the Church of St Therese and a parade of shops, including a bar, newsagent, chemist, butcher and barber. Food and drink offerings include the Union Café as well as Michael’s Restaurant and Rocket Food Café.
The Mount Merrion site is adjacent the 32-acre Deerpark public parkland, which is owned and maintained by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. It has walking paths, woodlands, sports fields and six all-weather tennis courts.
Ross Shorten and JP Flynn of Lisney, who are handling the sale of Flanagan Kerins, say the new owner can avail of a planning gain since the permission was granted. Under recent changes introduced in the planning regulations, new owners can increase the number of apartments within the same floor area by dropping some of the cores and reducing the number of dual aspect apartments.
In the meantime, the purchaser can avail of €73,000 in rental income from Flanagan Kerins and three mobile phone kiosks.
