Canbe, a company specialising in short-stay accommodation, is seeking planning permission to redevelop Rosie O'Grady's pub and adjoining commercial units at 280-288 Harold's Cross Road.
In 2012, agents Morrissey’s offered the properties for sale along with a neighbouring property with a guide of €1.3 million. Canbe bought the lot for an undisclosed sum – it is believed that the previous owners paid around €12 million in 2006 for the pub and its lands. Canbe’s plans involve the partial demolition of the existing structures and the construction of a 2,108sq m extension to accommodate an aparthotel with 46 short-stay tourist apartments.
According to Canbe’s planning application, the proposal is “not a development for private residential dwellings as the apartments are for short-stay tourism and aparthotel use”, and as such “Part V of the planning and development Act 2000 do not apply”. Part V requires developers to set aside up to 10 per cent of a new development for social and affordable housing.
Last year Canbe acquired 130 Pearse Street, a block of nine one-, two- and three-bed apartments with a ground-floor shop and basement storage, which was offered for sale by receivers with an asking price of €2.4 million. The apartments were initially rented on 12-month leases, generating a rental income of €129,300 per annum, however Canbe now operates the block as lucrative short-term lets.
On Garden Lane in Dublin 8, Canbe purchased the Enterprise Centre, a 420sq m office block, for €470,000 at an Allsop auction in 2015 and converted it into a stylish hostel offering 4-, 6- and 8-bed dorm rooms. Elsewhere, on Nutley Lane in Dublin 4, the company acquired Broc House, comprising 24 one-bedroom apartments in 2013. Bought by the State in 2000 for €9.2 million in a failed attempt to house refugees, it was subsequently moved on to a developer. Canbe purchased the block – its asking price was just €1.2 million – and then renovated it.
Another property, Five Lamps, a pub at 5-6 North Strand Road, was purchased by Canbe and extended to 1,121sq m to accommodate nine new short-stay apartments. Canbe’s apartments are advertised on Airbnb among other sites, with many requiring 20-night minimum stays.
Canbe is owned by a number of investors from around the country, including the Birr-based Garry family, who run the company. The majority shareholder is Dernfield Investments, a Kilkenny-based company associated with local accountants Tom O'Connor and Leslie Moynan.
