A key site of 0.87 of an acre (0.352 of a hectare) with potential for a significant development of either offices, hotel or student accommodation close to the Jervis Centre at Upper Abbey Street in Dublin, has been sold to an undisclosed purchaser for more than €22 million.

Finín O'Driscoll of Knight Frank handled the sale of the cleared site, which has 27m of frontage on to Upper Abbey Street and 70m facing Great Strand Street, as well as access to Byrnes Lane, which links up with the Millennium Walkway.

Two previous planning permissions have both lapsed. One was for a 10-storey hotel with 309 bedrooms, a retail unit and a bus interchange; the other was for a 344-bedroom hotel and 12 multifunction suites.

A more recent feasibility study by RKD Architects suggested the site could accommodate 18,399sq m of offices, a 393-bedroom hotel with ground floor food and beverage facilities, or a 420-bedroom student accommodation .