There goes the neighbourhood, or rather here comes a whole new one on Mart Lane in Foxrock judging by the recent sale of The Grove, a late-1960s bungalow on a 0.59-hectare (1.48-acre) site.
Having failed to find a buyer at its initial asking price of €3.25 million in February last year, the house returned to the market seven months ago with a new, heavily reduced guide of €2.25 million.
That 31 per cent discount coupled with the site’s scope for the development of up to 27 new homes appears to have done the trick for the vendors and for the agent handling the sale, Paul Nalty of Cushman & Wakefield. An examination of the Property Price Register shows that The Grove changed hands for €2.875 million on September 20th. The price paid represents a premium of 28 per cent on the discounted price tag and a far lesser discount of just 12 per cent on the ambitious sum that had been sought for the property in 2022.
The selling agent declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Irish Times, but the Foxrock site is understood to have been acquired by a developer.
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The Grove retained its Objective A zoning under the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Development plan 2022-2028 and presents an opportunity for a low- to medium-density residential scheme on the lands, subject to planning permission.
HKR Architects undertook a capacity study on Mart Lane in advance of the sale, which highlighted the different options for development on the site. One option included the retention of the existing dwelling along with the development of 12 large houses, while another suggested there would be scope for the delivery of a compact housing model of 27 new homes two to three storeys in height across the entire site.
