Buyer's €350,000 vanishes . . . into thin air

IN a move that echoes the mania at the height of the property boom, a developer has agreed to splash out €350,000 on a plot of air.

The unnamed developer's "unusual" buy is a tract of air between two period houses in Dublin's Sandycove. It came to the market courtesy of the owner of the access road between the houses.

The owner is retaining the road but selling the air above.

It could be developed - if an upper-storey structure were built between the houses and above the road.

The €350,000 price tag on the space of air raised some eyebrows when the property came to the market earlier this year. After all, the air came with no planning permission and the site's owner had bought the access road for just €20,000 in 2005.

However, estate agent Tom O'Higgins of Remax's Dun Laoghaire branch yesterday confirmed that the sale of the property was now agreed for a price "bang on the €350,000 mark".

The site could house a single-storey of 1,500 square feet, but any value to the new owner hinges entirely on securing planning permission for development.

Planning permission for unusual residential developments in south Dublin is notoriously hard to come by these days, and local people living near 21 and 22 Summerhill Road are expected to oppose any plans to develop there.

Mr O'Higgins said the site's buyer had been well aware that planning could be difficult to get. "He knows that a lengthy planning process is involved."

In a previous interview with the Irish Independent, Mr Jones said he was putting the site up for sale "to see what the market would hold at this stage".

Despite his considerable architectural experience he wouldn't consider developing the site himself because "that's not where I'm going with it at the moment".

WHAT THE BROCHURE SAYS

This is an unusual opportunity to acquire a very well located property which has potential subject to planning permission to enhance and further develop.

This opportunity should be of interest to a shrewd investor/developer with the resources to undergo the planning process and create an innovative and cutting-edge property of striking appeal

LAURA NOONAN
Irish Independent