In 2019, Auburn House in Malahide, which was the home of Mary McEvaddy, former wife of aviation tycoon Ulick McEvaddy, was bought by developer Hollybrook for a substantial undisclosed sum. The Property Price Register indicates that €6 million was paid for the house and up to an acre of land but the final figure for the sale, which included the remainder of the estate land, amounting to 11 hectares (27 acres), would have been substantially more given the site’s development potential.
Since purchasing the site, the road to gaining planning permission on the grounds has been a long and arduous one for Hollybrook, with residents in the neighbouring Abington development objecting to plans. In May last year, permission was granted for 91 homes, to be built on the land around the 18th-century mansion.
The first phase of the scheme, called Auburn Woods, was released in June of this year and included 45 units, all of which have already been sold. The next phase is expected to be released in October or November, according to selling agents Knight Frank, and will include apartments, duplexes and terraced and semidetached houses.
Planned to launch in the next phase are one-bedroom loft apartments, which will have an open-plan living space and balconies overlooking the grounds, extend to 53sq m (570sq ft) and are priced from €500,000, and two-bed terraced houses extending to 103sq m (1,109sq ft) which will be priced from €700,000.
There will be mews and duplex units on offer extending to 124sq m (1,335sq ft), with prices starting at €750,000. Four-bed terraced houses range in size from 128sq m (1,378sq ft) to 137sq m (1,475sq ft), with prices from €885,000 to €920,000, while the four-bed end-terrace and semidetached houses extend to 145sq m (1,560sq ft), and are priced from €965,000.
The development is laid out over a five-hectare (12.5-acre) site which will be fully landscaped and include walking trails, a restored walled garden and a playground. Existing trees and hedgerows will be joined by native wildflowers and tree species and the streets have been designed to calm traffic, while there are paths for walking and cycling.
Specifications are high in the homes, with wood flooring downstairs and carpets upstairs included in all units, as are the kitchen appliances. The four-bedroom houses will be attic-conversion friendly, subject to planning permission, with a pull-down stairs.
Sustainability has been a big focus throughout the planning stages of Auburn Woods: all homes will be A-rated and use air-source heat pumps. Timber frames, sedum roofs and high levels of air tightness are all features of the properties.
Auburn Woods is located beside Abington, which has been referred to as Malahide’s millionaires’ row, with past and present residents including footballer Robbie Keane, Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, and Westlife singer Nicky Byrne. Malahide Castle and Demesne is a short walk away, as is Malahide village.
Plans for the redevelopment of Auburn House itself, which sits in the centre of the new development, have not yet been finalised, according to Knight Frank.
