Cork city land offer at €2.6m is set between two development sites for over 1,000 homes

Thu, 02 Nov, 2023 - 06:00

Property Editor Tommy Barker reports

A FURTHER land jigsaw piece in the future evolution of Cork City suburb Ballyvolane comes to market this week, between two other developments where site and ground works are advancing on provision of over 1,000 new homes.

Fresh to market this week is 28ac (11.37ha) at Arderrow, Ballyvolane, with mixed zonings and guided at €2.6m by Johnny McKenna and Margaret Kelleher of Lisney.

Alongside the local Lidl, and the longer-established Dunnes Stores at Ballyvolane, it adjoins a site just to the north where planning was granted for 753 homes by Cork-based company Longview Estates.

CGI image of the 753-unit housing estate, Longview, proposed for Ballyvolane, on the northside of Cork city

Longview is headed by John Crean, and backed by investment fund Temporis Capital, and is cleared for a mix of 531 houses and 222 apartments, on lands acquired in two tranches over six years ago by Longview. It has a 10-year planning grant as part of the strategic Ballyvolane urban expansion plans under strategic, long-term Cork Local Area Plans. Total development value here is likely to be north of €200m.

When 53 acres also at Arderrow went for sale in February 2022 there was speculation reported that Longview’s lands might be sold in a quiet deal put at around €20m, but has not been sold. The 53 acres offered in February 2022 had a €3.2m AMV via agents CBRE and ERA Downey McCarthy, and had 47.55ac set for tier 3 residential zoning and 5.65ac zoned open space.

An aerial view of the separate lots of land, totalling 53 acres, put for sale in the townland of Arderrow, near Ballyvolane last year. It is not yet sold

Alongside this latest offer to the west is the new 275 home development Arderrow, commenced by O’Flynn Group on a 7.5ha site, just 3km north of Cork city centre: The O’Flynn scheme approved under a strategic housing development (SHD) process is for 205 houses and 70 apartments.

Aerial photo of the proposed site for the 275 unit O'Flynn Group housing development in Arderrow, Ballyvolane,. Picture Damian Coleman

This week’s offer via Lisney is available in two lots, with access off the Ballyhooley Road next to Lidl as is described as “a significant development opportunity, strategically located in Ballyvolane,” by Mr McKenna.

Site works have recently commenced on the two adjacent developments “with a recent announcement of significant infrastructure work being delivered by Housing Infrastructure Services Company (HISCo) a commercial joint venture between Cork County Council and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) to enable the development to commence,” say the selling agents of this €2.6m offer, in one or more lots.

Arderrow lands at Cork's Ballyvolane being sold by Lisney

They have different zonings in the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028, with 6.5ac (2.63ha) zoned “district centres” to provide for the development and enhancement of district centres as mixed-use centres and as primary locations for retail, economic and residential growth. The second zoning is on a slightly smaller parcel, 5.6ac (2.26ha) which is zoned “institutions and community”, to provide for and protect institutional and community uses:combined price for these on c 12 acres is €1.95m.. The balance of the land, about 15ac or 6.48ha is zoned “public open spaces”, guided at €650,000.

Further CGI image of the 753-unit housing scheme proposed by Longview Estates

The prospect of servicing initiatives for infrastructure under HISCo, provision of public open green spaces in adjoining developments, proximity to existing retailers and existing residential communities as well as a 207 bus service, and reasonable city proximity, ease of access to the N20 Cork to Limerick route is likely to underpin the setting’s appeal to developers and home buyers and occupiers alike.

“The strategic location of the property and the zoning will appeal to a range of users to include retail, healthcare, residential, and education uses,” says agent Margaret Kelleher.

MEANWHILE the sod was turned during the summer on the €9m HISCo servicing initiative for Ballyvolane, attended by Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who described it as “hugely significant” for the city.

“As one of the largest housing developments to ever commence in the history of Cork City, this project points to the building momentum we’re now seeing in the delivery of housing,” Mr Martin said, paying tribute to HISCo’s success in assisting delivery of thousands of homes across Ireland.

HISCo can provide a design-build-finance service for both on-site and off-site infrastructure that facilitates residential development, recovering its investment via an infrastructure fee payable on units sales.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien described HISCo’s model as “a blueprint for how we can deliver housing at scale across the country”.