Former Sisters of Mercy convent complex for sale in Passage West for €1.2m

The site, which has planning permission for apartments and houses, is singled out as a "key regeneration opportunity" in the harbour town 

A CONVENT and lands previously owned by the Sisters of Mercy in Passage West have gone on the market for €1.2m.

The 3.16 acre mixed-use town centre site is being sold by ERA Downey McCarthy on behalf of Barry Coleman of Clyda Eco Homes Ltd, the company that also owns the site of the former John Barleycorn Hotel in Glanmire, which is currently under offer for a sum in excess of the asking price of €1.6m.

The Convent site/ on Main St, overlooking the lower harbour, is earmarked as a “key regeneration opportunity” in the Passage West Strategic Plan 2018-2022, and has full planning permission for 35 apartments, 13 detached homes and two retail units.

Buildings currently on site include the former St Mary’s National School, the Sisters of Mercy Convent, a former industrial school and some ancillary outbuildings. The site borders Chapel Square to the South and Fair Hill/The Back Road to the East.

Ger White of ERA Downey McCarthy, who is joint agent with Seán McCarthy, said the national school building will be demolished to make way for a four storey development with 17 apartments one and two-bed apartments spread over first, second and third floors, with two ground floor retail units. The apartments will range in size from 55.6 sq m/598 sq ft (one-bed) to 92.6m/996 sq ft (two-bed) and will be accessed from Main St, as will the retail units.

CGI of proposed four storey residential-over-retail development to replace the former St Mary's National School on Main St Passage West

The remaining 18 apartments will be housed in the old convent building over three floors. The convent apartments will also be one and two-bed, ranging in size from 47.1 sq m/507 sq ft to 97 sq m/1,044 sq ft. Access will be from the Back Road/Fair Hill.

The facade of the old convent, built c1870, will be preserved, Mr White said. The convent complex is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage as “a dominant presence in the town” overlooking the harbour, “comprising a long central building...well detailed and well designed”. The entry also references the adjacent former red brick industrial school, adding that the convent complex “played a significant role in the local community in the past”. The facade of this building will also be preserved. In terms of the interiors, Mr White said “most of the innards are completely gutted”, with the exception of some staircases, which will also be restored and preserved.

The rear of the complex is earmarked for 13 three storey detached homes, all with five bedrooms, and ranging in size 178.4sq m/1,920 sq ft to 190.1 sq m/2,046 sq ft.

CGI of proposed three storey five-bedroom detached homes to rear of convent complex 

Mr White said they are selling the site by tender. While the AMV is €1.2m, the purchaser may also pay VAT if applicable.

Mr White said the site offers builders/developers/investors “a superb opportunity to acquire a ready-to-go development site in one of the best town centre locations in Passage West”.

In relation to the 5.5 acre Glanmire site that once housed the John Barleycorn Hotel, which was destroyed by a fire in 2006, Mr White said a number of options were open to whoever buys it as it is zoned for mixed use. Locals in the community had been keen for Cork City Council to buy the site and to expand the neighbouring John O’Callaghan Park. However the Council is prioritising housing at the moment and a mixed-use zoning didn’t fit its plans.

For more information contact Ger White on 0879733111 or log onto www.eracork.ie