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Harold’s Cross greyhound stadium was bought by the Department of Education for €23 million. Sam Boal

Dublin land prices with 'development potential' on the rise, as €23m price tag for stadium defended

The land has been rezoned to allow for the construction of schools in Harold’s Cross.

PRICES FOR CENTRALLY located land with “development potential” in Dublin continues to rise, according to the Valuation Commissioner. 

In a letter to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, John O’Sullivan, defends the price tag for the 2.4 acre Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium in Dublin, stating that the site was compared to four other properties in the area. 

Education Minister Joe McHugh came in for some criticism last month when it was revealed €23 million was paid out for the site. There had been reports that an independent valuation put a price tag of just €12 million on the site.

The land has been rezoned to allow for the construction of schools there. The Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) cleared its debt after completion of the sale

At the time the minister stated the department bought the site based on an independent valuation from the Office of Valuations.

The correspondence outlines some key sites in the area and their value. The properties were used in a comparison exercise to reach a valuation of the stadium, O’Sullivan explains. 

Harold’s Cross Road, which is less than one kilometre from the stadium site, was on the market at that time with an asking price of €15 million.

Roslyn Park in Sandymount, Dublin 4 was sold in 2016 for €3.8 million, while the Marianella site in Rathgar, Dublin 6, which is in excess of 8 acres was sold in 2015 for a reported price in excess of €4.9 million.

The Valuation Office said it was also aware of the proposed sale of the RTE site at Montrose when it came to the valuation of the stadium. The Donnybrook Road site of over 8 acres had an asking price of €75 million – the property was subsequently sold for €107.5 million.

O’Sullivan also provided a list of sites that have since been sold since the Office valued the greyhound stadium at €23 million.

It lists such well-known Dublin sites as the Classic Cinema in Harold’s Cross, which has a price tag of €6 million, while a 1.25 acre site on Dunville Avenue is estimated at €6.9 million

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In defending the valuation reported given to the Department of Education in April 2017, O’Sullivan said the greyhound stadium is centrally located, just over 2km from St Stephen’s Green. 

He said land value growth was recorded across all sectors in the Dublin region in 2016 and referencing the The Society of Chartered Surveyors, he said the Dublin region was projected to experience “double digit growth in development land values across all sectors”. 

The Office is tasked with providing accurate, up-to-date valuations of commercial and industrial properties. 

It is currently engaged in a national programme to revalue all commercial and industrial properties in Ireland

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14 Comments
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    Mute Vocal Outrage
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    Jan 24th 2019, 5:44 PM

    Many of the other sites listed gave both price and size (acres), however, the size of the greyhound stadium wasn’t given. It is very hard to compare respective value for money in the absence of that in the article

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    Mute Steff Blood
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    Jan 24th 2019, 6:19 PM

    @Vocal Outrage: 6 acre site when listed for sale

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    Mute Sean
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    Jan 24th 2019, 7:20 PM

    @Steff Blood: yes it is a six acre site, 4.8 times larger than the Classic cinema site which is less than two hundred yards away and guided €6million (1.25acres). Michael Lowry raised concerns which says it all for me really.

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    Mute SF Ankle Tapper
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    Jan 24th 2019, 5:44 PM

    One govt dept paying another state owned body..just a money go round

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jan 24th 2019, 6:45 PM

    I wonder will the NTA give the same Valuations when they take away peoples front gardens?

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    Mute Shane Murphy
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    Jan 24th 2019, 7:16 PM

    @paul kelly: except you can’t build anything in the front gardens. It’s a bit different. If it’s a scenario of people losing the ability to park in their front garden , I’d have sympathy, if not, tough luck!

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    Mute paul kelly
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    Jan 24th 2019, 9:04 PM

    @Shane Murphy: You want busses every few sec 24/7 a few feet from your front door?

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    Mute Mick Hannigan
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    Jan 24th 2019, 5:37 PM

    Lol, and there off, who will give me 700k for a 500sqf one bed,

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    Mute Adrian
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    Jan 24th 2019, 6:55 PM

    Its hard to gauge land prices from gov sales as our politicians management of the countrys finances are so poor.

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    Mute In the paper
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    Jan 24th 2019, 7:36 PM

    €23 Million for the land for schools….
    They will be the Dearest schools in the world…if the new Children’s hospital is anything to go on …..

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    Mute Dot Com
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    Jan 24th 2019, 7:21 PM

    Why did the department of education purchase this site?

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    Mute Kevin Barry
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    Jan 24th 2019, 7:27 PM

    @Dot Com: If you read the article you would know it is to build schools.

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    Mute Dot Com
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    Jan 24th 2019, 7:33 PM

    @Kevin Barry:
    I did read the story, I missed the one line reference, Rediculous money for land to build a school, Better spent removing prefabs in place at the moment.

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    Mute BarronVonVaderHam
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    Jan 24th 2019, 10:39 PM

    Lets hope the 50 million euro school doesn’t fall down.

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