€2.25m Killarney 'opportunity' site has permission for a nursing home and residential units 

The 2.5a mixed-use site is also suitable for homes

Ballycasheen Road, Killarney, land sale with FPP for nursing home

A €2.25m prime development site in Killarney, Co Kerry, with full planning permission for a nursing home and residential units, is expected to draw strong interest from healthcare operators — and developers — amid growing demand for elder care facilities.

The 2.5a (1.01ha) site comes to market as interest grows in nursing and care home assets against a backdrop of projections from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) that Ireland will require thousands of additional long-stay residential care beds by 2040, to keep pace with demographic change.

Reflecting strong buyer appetite in the sector, the Irish Examiner understands that White Thorn Lodge Care Home in Tralee, which came to market with agents Cohalan Downing last year, guiding at €6m, has just gone sale agreed in excess of that level. 

White Thorn Lodge Care Home inTralee is understood to be sale agreed above the €6m guide price

The home, on an 8.82a site, 3.5km south of Tralee town centre, is registered to care for 68 residents and is fully occupied and trading.

The Tralee buyer is most likely an experienced operator in the residential care sector and buyers with a similar profile are expected to show interest in the Killarney site, where planners have granted consent for a mixed-use development, including a 90-bed nursing home, as well as 18 independent living units and 31 duplex/residential units, ranging in height from three to five storeys.

Auctioneer Tom Spillane, who is joint agent with Killian Spillane and Philip Horgan of Cushman & Wakefield, said they also expect interest from property developers, as the site zoning under the local development plan is for ‘mixed use, general development and opportunity’.

“As such, it’s left the door open for other development options. You could put residential on it, or commercial,” Mr Spillane said — subject to planning permission. The agents added that the Ballycasheen lands “present a compelling proposition for developers and investors alike”.

The triangular-shaped site, with generally flat topography, is at the intersection of the N22 Killarney to Cork road and the Ballycasheen Rd, just 2km from Killarney town centre.

Next door is a distribution centre operated by grocery wholesaler Musgrave. Housing estates are plentiful in the area. Mr Spillane said the site “enjoys exceptional profile and accessibility at one of the principal gateways into the town”.

The vendors, based both locally and overseas, secured planning consent for the development last year, on appeal.

“We’re selling it with that [FPP] benefit, and we expect interest from people in the nursing home sector as the site is ready to go, but we are not ruling out the possibility that it could be put to other use.

“It is zoned as an ‘opportunity’ site, offering flexibility to respond to evolving market demands,” Mr Horgan said.

He added that the parcel of land “occupies one of the most visible and strategically positioned sites along the N22 Killarney/Cork Rd”, with substantial frontage onto both the N22 and the Ballycasheen Rd. Moreover, it benefits from high volumes of passing traffic and strong access potential.

The agents said fully consented sites of this calibre are “increasingly rare” at a time when the country continues to grapple with “the dual challenges of housing supply and healthcare capacity”.

In terms of long-stay care bed capacity, the shortages in Killarney town have been highlighted in the past 12 months by the controversy surrounding the delayed opening of a new 130-bed community nursing unit at St Finan’s Hospital campus, just off the Killarney bypass. It was due to open a year ago, but has yet to do so.

In terms of housing, Killarney’s County Development Plan and recent land-zoning changes identify space for over 4,400 potential housing units across the municipal district — far more than are currently in detailed proposals, reflecting long-term growth expectations.

The town plan itself envisages needing around 1,277 new homes over the life of the current planning period to serve projected population growth.

MORE DETAILS: Tom Spillane: T: 064 6633066; Email: [e-mail]  

Philip Horgan: Email: [e-mail] Killian Spillane: Email: [e-mail] T: 0214275454;