Developer plans new town centre

PLANS by developer Owen O’Callaghan to transform his Liffey Valley complex into a designated town centre for west Dublin were taken a stage further this week.

Barkhill, a company controlled by Owen O’Callaghan and Grosvenor Estates, is seeking planning permission this week for more than 600 apartments on the Liffey Valley site, including a signature 16-storey tower apartment building. He also has further plans to enlarge Liffey Valley shops’ element by 50% to almost one million square feet of retail space, including neighbourhood shops.

Barkhill has been competing with rival developers Treasury Holdings to secure designated town centre status for the Lucan Clondalkin area at its 187-acre Liffey Valley site. It also aims to provide a further 1,000 residential units, cultural and civic facilities, offices, public transport links and increased car parking, leisure and other services as well as a new High Street. A 150-bed Clarion hotel adjoins the six-acre site for the proposed 600 apartments, while offices and a bar complex are already being provided.

South Dublin County Council voted three weeks ago to include the Liffey Valley site in its draft development plan as a designated town centre for west Dublin, and this will be put on public display for comment and voted on in the New Year, according to Mr O’Callaghan.

This week’s planning application for 600 apartments at Liffey Valley is independent of that zoning vote, as this site portion is already earmarked for residential development, he noted. Meanwhile,

development firm O’Callaghan Properties has just completed the purchase of a London office block for redevelopment, from Green Properties as part of that company’s British property portfolio sell-off, worth an estimated £385 million.

Company managing director Owen O’Callagahan yesterday confirmed their purchase of Fitzroy House, at 18 to 20 Grafton Street in London from Green Property.

The reported £12 million (E17.3 million) Mayfair purchase is of a 20,000 sq ft office block. Mr O’Callaghan says the primely-located building will be demolished and redeveloped, to accommodate about 30,000 sq ft of space.

Fitzroy House is O’Callaghan Properties’ first foray into the London market in almost 20 years, since it was involved in development in Wimbledon in the early 1980s.

The company is developing the E350 million scheme Mahon Point in Cork City, and has other city centre mixed-uses schemes in train.