ONE OF THE most recognisable buildings in Ireland’s capital, Baggot Street Hospital on the city’s southside, is set to go under the hammer.
The HSE has commissioned property specialists Savills to bring the iconic building to the market.
While the hospital is situated in as prime a real estate area as the city has to offer, the deal will be quite an unusual one in that the HSE are demanding the provision of a 3,300 square metre primary care centre either on the existing site or elsewhere in the city.
This could see the HSE either maintain a lease within the building itself post-sale or consider a part exchange of another suitable building should the buyer wish to have the original building fully vacant.
Definitely not your common or garden sale.
With this in mind no specific guide price for the hospital has been named. Savills have suggested that the property, if fully vacant, could expect to fetch €14 million.
The hospital, famous for its red and black terracotta facade, was originally founded in 1831 by doctors from the Royal College of Surgeons, with the institution expanding over time to occupy numbers 14-18 Baggot Street.
The building became the Royal City of Dublin Hospital in 1900 following a visit by Princess Alexandra, daughter of Queen Victoria who was visiting Ireland at the time.
Since 1986, when it ceased to be an acute general hospital, the building has been known as Baggot Street Hospital. This was also when it became entrusted to the HSE.
“The HSE see this as an existing opportunity to develop primary care and community services in the central Dublin area,” said Savills in a statement.
What will become of the building is currently a matter of speculation, but with several international investors showing interest already a hotel or office block conversion would seem the most likely projects.
Savills’ John Swarbrigg, the agent handling the sale, told TheJournal.ie that the building “suits a multitude of purposes”.
I wouldn’t like to pigeon-hole it really, the zoning is quite broad so you could be talking an office building, high-end apartments, or a hotel.
Swarbrigg expects strong interest in the building due to “the uniqueness and quality of the offering, combined with very favourable dynamics in the residential, office and hotel markets in Dublin”.
We are expecting to attract substantial interest from investors across the globe, with a number of local and international investors already having made approaches.
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