Johnny Ronan and Colony Capital top bidders for docklands site

Offer of €43m for six-acre waterfront site at Spencer Dock was just ahead of next bid

The docklands site was previously owned by Ronan’s Treasury Holdings before the company collapsed. It has planning permission for a  hotel,  offices and apartments
The docklands site was previously owned by Ronan’s Treasury Holdings before the company collapsed. It has planning permission for a hotel, offices and apartments

Property developer Johnny Ronan and Colony Capital have emerged as the top bidders for a six-acre waterfront site at Spencer Dock in the north Dublin docklands.

Their offer of €43 million was marginally ahead of a bid from New Generation, a new homes development company run by Greg Kavanagh.

Ronan and Colony Capital previously joined forces to purchase a substantial office site at Burlington Road.

The docklands site was previously owned by Ronan’s Treasury Holdings before the company collapsed. It has planning permission for a 169-bedroom hotel, more than 31,580sq m (340,000 sq ft) of offices and 165 apartments, with scope for additional facilities.

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CIÉ is also set to benefit from the sale, having retained a freehold interest in ground leases at the former railway yard, which extends to more than 50 acres.

Treasury had developed only 20 of the 50 acres it had a lien on in Spencer Dock when the market crashed.

The six-acre site is divided in two by the Luas Red line on Mayor Street Upper. The southern portion, overlooking the Liffey, is earmarked for the commercial element.

Jack Fagan

Jack Fagan

Jack Fagan is the former commercial-property editor of The Irish Times