Priory land on market at €5m
By Mary Dennehy
LANDS adjoining St Mary’s Priory in the heart of Tallaght Village have this week gone on the market for a guide price of €5 million.
Owned by the Dominican Fathers, the 2.46 acres pocket of land is being sold as a ‘prime residential development site’ – with the potential for 204 apartments or a student accommodation scheme, consisting of 618 bed spaces.
The entrance to St Mary’s Priory from the Old Greenhills Road in Tallaght village
The land for sale backs onto the TU Dublin – Tallaght Campus on the Old Greenhills Road-side of the village.
In a statement to The Echo, a spokesperson for the Dominicans said: “The land, which adjoins St Mary’s Priory is owned by the Dominican Fathers and is being disposed of as part of the Dominican Fathers review of their overall property holding.”
The Dominicans first came to Tallaght in 1856, and over the decades their centre in Tallaght village has grown to include the Priory Institute.
The adjoining lands are also home to the Tallaght Retreat and Conference Centre, which offers retreats and courses for people in the Tallaght area and further afield.
Also on campus is St Catherine’s Counselling Centre, where the Dominicans offer individual counselling and psychotherapy for adults, children and families.
The priory also has pastoral responsibility for the parishes of St Aengus, St Dominic’s and St Mary’s.
According to the spokesperson: “The funds from the sale will be used to provide valuable support for this work and to provide ongoing medical and care needs of ageing members of the Dominican Community.”
The prime residential site
The lands, which have frontage onto the Old Greenhills Road, are zoned predominantly within an area zoned Objective VC – ‘To protect, improve and provide for the future development of Village Centres’.
A smaller section of land is zoned Objective TC – ‘To protect, improve and provide for the future development of Town Centres’.
According to selling agents GVA, both zonings offer a “wide variety of development uses and residential development is permitted and guided by the objectives of the [South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2016- 2022] and current town planning policy.”
A site feasibility study has also been prepared indicating the site’s potential for “a high-end residential development scheme”.
This site feasibility study examines the potential for two development options, providing 204 apartments or a student accommodation scheme of 618 bed spaces.
In a statement issued, GVA auctioneers said: “This development opportunity presents a unique opportunity for a high-end apartment scheme or alternatively a student residential development as the site adjoins TU Dublin – Tallaght Campus and benefits from the many services and amenities Tallaght and its environs has to offer.”
