February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — Less than an acre of land on Dublin’s most exclusive road, which had been the home of the Chester Beatty Library, has fetched a whopping £7.2 million.
The new owners, a Galway construction company, are expected to develop the Shrewsbury Road site and seek approval for a luxury block of apartments.
Auctioneers Sherry FitzGerald described it "as an absolute record for a property of this kind." It had been put on the market at £5 million.
"Shrewsbury Road is rather unique in property terms. The price reflects the scarcity value. There are a lot of people with very substantial homes who might be quite happy to acquire an apartment on a trade down. We have seen house prices in excess £4 and 5 million throughout the country," said a auctioneer spokesman.
"Retiring down to an apartment at £750,000 or £1 million would not be
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that exceptional," he said.
About 40 attended the auction but only five were active bidders. The bidding opened at £3 million and it went up in half millions to £5 million. From £6 million it went in £100,000 bids until it was sold.
An adjoining site of just under half an acre fetched £3.6 million last December and two large three-floor houses are being built on it.
New York-born mining millionaire and philanthropist Sir Alfred Chester Beatty bequeathed his collection of 80,000 priceless books, paintings and manuscripts to the State in 1956. The library — which is one of Dublin’s biggest tourist attractions — has been moved to Dublin Castle.