Prime city site a jigsaw puzzle for two developers

TWO different Cork developers have ended up with different pieces of a jigsaw puzzle site for a prime Douglas residential site.

The former HB site on the South Douglas Road has been successfully bought at tender by Paul Kenny of the Kenny Group.

He paid close to the €1.65 million guide price indicated by Margaret Kelleher of Lisney’s Cork offices (Lisney are selling off a number of national depots for the company.

The most valuable of all the HB sites, the Cork base with 1.15 acres critically has road frontage to the South Douglas Road.

This may be needed to open up access to seven acres of highly valuable house building land behind being vacated by Nemo Rangers GAA club.

Bandon-based Fleming Construction have a c 8 million deal agreed with Nemo and will build a major high density residential scheme here, subject to planning permission.

Paul Kenny now owns two parts of this intriguing site jigsaw, the HB site and the c half-acre Clona Dairies site behind.

Fleming has the larger land portion, but which is very land locked with poor access.

Some property owners on the main Douglas Road have had quiet approaches, it is understood, with a view to providing access to the Nemo lands from Douglas Road.

The possibility of some joint development between Paul Kenny and Fleming Construction is possible.

Prior to the sale of the HB site by tender, a planning notice was erected by the site by Paul Kenny seeking permission for a creche-type facility on the Clona Dairies site.

It effectively marked, in a very pronounced way, his presence in this other pivotal centre site, and the creche application prompts the analogy that he was challenging other bidders “go on, hit me, with the child (creche) in my arms.”