The vision to develop a new economic and residential hub for Dublin becomes a reality today with the announcement that Cherrywood Business Park and Development Lands is for sale through Savills, with a guide price in excess of €220m.

The prime 400 acre site – located to the south of Dublin City – is the most prominent undeveloped land bank to ever come to the market in Ireland. It is expected to become a focal point for development in Dublin over the next 10 years following the recent adoption of the Cherrywood Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). The SDZ, which provides a ‘fast track’ planning process for development, stipulates that the land must be utilised for the construction of a town centre, surrounded by substantial residential, office and retail space. It is estimated that the Gross Development Value (GDV) as of today in relation to the undeveloped land is in excess of approximately €2.5bn.

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According to Savills, the development of Cherrywood is of strategic importance to the Irish economy, in terms of the potential for FDI, job creation and addressing the rapidly declining supply of office and housing space in Dublin. It is estimated that up to 10,000 new homes are required per year in Dublin to accommodate a growing population. Under the provisions of the SDZ, the lands being offered for sale could accommodate up to 3,836 residential units.

The development potential of the land is underpinned by the expenditure already incurred of approximately €40million on the provision of infrastructure in recent years. The site has a dedicated junction onto the M50 & N11 – two of Ireland’s most important motorways which provide swift access to all Dublin regions and to the south-east of the country. Furthermore, the public transport options – which include numerous bus stops, and 3 dedicated LUAS stations (light rail) based on the land – provide direct access to Dublin city centre in approximately 40 minutes.

Mark Reynolds, Director Development & Consultancy at Savills Ireland said;

“Cherrywood is a suburban development unlike any other in Ireland. It is larger than London’s Hyde Park and represents an unrivalled opportunity to develop a new destination in a much sought after suburb of South Dublin. Its location, combined with excellent surrounding existing transportation links and infrastructure, means that it will be a priority location for development for the next 10 to 15 years. Simply put, no opportunity of this scale is ever likely to be presented again in Dublin.”

In addition to the potential for residential development, the Cherrywood SDZ also allows for up to 484,474 sq.m of non-residential development. This includes approximately 37,800 sq.m of retail space within the town centre zoning lands being offered for sale, and approximately 220,000 sq.m. of office space primarily located within the surrounding area of the well-established Cherrywood Business Park.

Construction of Cherrywood Business Park commenced in 2000. It currently comprises approx. 52,312 sq.m of tenanted offices, retail and leisure buildings, with substantial basement and surface car parking. Current tenants include Dell Direct, Rational FT Services, Friends First, Elavon Financial Services and Covidien Services Europe Limited.

Domhnaill O’Sullivan, Director of Investments at Savills said;

“The opportunity that Cherrywood offers is underpinned by the current rental income from the established Business Park with a weighted unexpired term of 6.4 years. 89% of the €7.5 million annual rent roll within the Park is attributable to 5 key tenants employing over 2,000 people, and that this could potentially increase to €10.5m per annum upon the leasing of vacant space.”

The sale of Cherrywood Business Park and Development Lands, codenamed ‘Project Cherry’, is being handled by property consultants Savills on behalf of the Receivers Stephen Tennant and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton. Savills say that they expect considerable interest from international investors.