A county council was able to buy an historic house and gardens for €10 million after being told it could fetch as much as €15 million on the open market.
South Dublin County Council bought Lucan House and Demesne from the Italian government this year with a view to transforming it into a visitor attraction along the banks of the River Liffey.
A private real estate company had told the owners it could have secured a price of between €12.5 million and €15 million in an auction.
However, a deal was struck for €10 million – which was €500,000 less than a valuation given in an independent assessment by Dublin City Council’s Valuation Office.
This said Lucan House and Demesne was made up of a Palladian country house of over 15,000 square feet along with a boathouse, a stable block, two gate lodges, worker cottages, and “other structures of archaeological note.”
The property itself covers around thirty acres along the banks of the River Liffey and even has a small island in the river connected by an iron footbridge.
The valuation said that South Dublin County Council should seek agreement on “the inventory of fixtures, fittings, furniture, and art” inside Lucan House, which were also of considerable value.
It said: “There is scope perhaps, for the council to purchase certain bespoke items of intrinsic historical value, which would support and enhance the future use of this important heritage property.”
The valuation said a similar Palladian mansion, Seafield House in Donabate, North Dublin, had achieved a sale price of over €9 million.
“Smaller property, inferior location, layout and scale of rooms not as impressive. Doesn’t have the same architectural prestige,” it said.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25444551-lucan-house-purchase