The Archdiocese of Dublin has put Holy Cross College on the market and is seeking offers of more than €100m (£86m).
The district, led by the Archbishop of Dublin, has instructed local agents Hooke & MacDonald to sell the freehold for the 18.9-acre site. It is located on Clonliffe Road, in the prime residential suburb of Drumcondra, walking distance from Dublin city centre.
The site has been earmarked for significant residential development in the Dublin City Development Plan.
A masterplan is currently being prepared for the Drumcondra Portfolio, which would deliver more than 1,200 apartments and a local neighbourhood centre.
The site includes 60,642 sq ft of former college buildings, which could be used for further residential development.
The archidiocese previously entered into exclusive discussions to sell the site to the Gaelic Athletic Association, Ireland’s largest sporting organisation, in October 2018 after struggling to finance maintenance of the building, which it deemed “no longer fit for its purposes”. However, the discussions have since fallen through, with the archdiocese now formally taking the development to the market.
Any proposed sale will be subject to approval by the Holy See, the central governing body of the Roman Catholic Church.
The archdiocese said that any future development should retain the legacy of the site and also provide gains for the community.
Local planning policy requires that 20% of the space is used as public space. Residential development will also be required to include 10% of the homes as social housing and 10% as affordable housing.
The main college building was built in 1863 and is a protected structure. It ceased to function as a seminary in 2000 and is currently being used for administration purposes and offices.
Holy Cross College was founded in 1854 as the Catholic diocesan seminary for Dublin. The site is one of the largest tracts of land in Dublin city.
It is split into four sections: 3.3 acres in section 1 to the east of the site off Clonliffe Road, 6.5 acres in sections 2a and 2b front Clonliffe Road and Lower Drumcondra Road, and a further 9 acres in section 3, which incorporates the buildings.
All parties declined to comment.
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