Ireland: The creation of a boutique hotel at Hatch Hall, a former Victorian university residence hall in Dublin, has moved a step closer.
Red Carnation Hotels has completed its purchase of the property for more than €20 million.
Designed by architect CB Powell, the property was built for the Jesuit order in 1912 to provide accommodation for students attending UCD’s original campus at nearby Earlsfort Terrace.
In 2004, the property was acquired for €16 million by Gerry Barrett’s Edward Holdings. While the Galway-based developer secured permission from Dublin City Council to transform the building into an 81-bedroom hotel, the plan was later scotched by An Bord Pleanála.
The property had, up until recently, been used by its most recent owners, East Coast Catering Ireland Ltd, to house asylum seekers for the Department of Justice. East Coast acquired Hatch Hall after Barrett put it up for sale in 2011 for just €6 million as part of his efforts to pay down Edward Holdings’ debt to Nama.
East Coast Catering Ireland’s €20 million sale of Hatch Hall to Red Carnation Hotels was brokered by John Hughes of CBRE’s hotel division.
