Dublin GAA County Board seeking €7m for Spawell complex in Templeogue

Having paid a reported €9 million in 2017 to secure ownership of the entire Spawell complex – a long-established leisure and sporting facility on 13.92 hectares (34.45 acres) in Templeogue, Dublin 6W – the Dublin GAA county board has instructed agent Bannon to find a buyer for the commercial element of the scheme. The subject property, which extends across a total area of 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) and comprises a range of uses, is being offered to the market at a guide price of €7 million. The proceeds of the proposed sale are to be used primarily by Dublin GAA to pay for the costs of its development of a new, state-of-the-art “GAA cluster training facility” on the Spawell lands. Upon completion, the facility will include four new floodlit GAA pitches with electronic scoreboards and dugouts, a 500-seater spectator stand, two terraces with capacity for an additional 500 attendees, and a range of other facilities for players, officials and fans.The well-known commercial centre being offered for sale briefly comprises a licensed premises, retail and office accommodation, sports and leisure facilities, a garden centre and extensive surface parking. The existing buildings extend to a total area of 5,200sq m (56,000sq ft) and are generating a rental income of about €153,000 a year, providing the incoming owner with short-term income while future plans for the site are explored. The site’s income is set to be increased further through a proposed letting of the licensed premises, according to the selling agent.The lands are zoned “local centre” under the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022–2028. There is a site-specific objective attached to the lands that stipulates the retail element of any development cannot exceed five neighbourhood-centre units including a supermarket not larger than 800sq m (8,611sq ft). Other permitted uses for the site include primary healthcare centre, nursing home, housing for older people, or a retirement home. READ MOREThe planning authority is also open to considering the development of a hotel or hostel on the site, which is notable, the selling agent says, given that permission for a 149-bedroom was granted to a previous owner of the property. The lands may also have future residential development potential subject to an alteration of the site-specific objective, the agent says. Niall Brereton of Bannon says: “The Spawell Complex offers purchasers the ability to acquire a substantial, high-profile landholding with short-term flexible income, mixed-use zoning and the potential to deliver a transformative development, subject to planning permission, in one of south Dublin’s most accessible locations”. The Spawell Complex is being offered for sale by private treaty, with a best-bids date of Thursday December 10th.