The central bank is negotiating with the land development agency over the sale of the huge Sandyford “Mint” property

The Central Bank and the Land Development Agency (LDA) are at odds over what to do with a plot of land in south Dublin that may be worth more than €70m.

While the bank intends to sell the land, the government’s housing policy means it could be offered only a small fee plus an alternative state-owned plot of land elsewhere for the Sandyford site.

The two sides are in talks about the future of the CBI currency center at Sandyford, a 37-acre campus that has been home to the Irish Mint since 1970.

The CBI decided in December to sell the site to make “a significant financial contribution” to acquiring and developing a new home for its physical currency operations, according to Central Bank Commission minutes released on Tuesday.

But the LDA, which is empowered to release state-owned land for much-needed housing, has a first denial. The similarly sized Glass Bottle Site closer to Dublin city is being developed with 3,800 homes.

While the LDA must purchase such land at an arm’s length price, the likely achievable price is much lower than if the land were sold for private development as the land will only be used for the construction of social and affordable housing.

As part of a strategic review last year, the CBI commissioned outside appraisers to estimate the value of the package as part of an evaluation to decide whether to redevelop the currency center or move it to a new, more convenient location.

The size and location of the property mean that it is highly valued for residential development. The currency center is situated in a prime residential area just off the M50 motorway adjacent to the Irish Management Institute (IMI) college campus, close to Dundrum city center and largely surrounded by suburban detached and semi-detached houses.

Planners in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Borough Council voted last year to subdivide the campus into residential and open space zones, overriding planners’ efforts to preserve it for commercial use.

Talks between the CBI and the LDA are still in the early stages, but the currency hub is seen as just the kind of location the LDA is looking for.

According to the commission’s minutes, the CBI would use proceeds from a sale to develop a new center elsewhere in the capital.

The LDA is completing a project to map all relevant state lands within urban areas suitable for housing development. A report is due to go to Housing Secretary Darragh O’Brien in March, after which he can order the property to be transferred to the Development Agency.

The central bank is on a list of government agencies whose land must be used for social and affordable housing when it is no longer needed for the agency’s needs.

The central bank stopped printing the Irish version of the euro here in 2019, but still mints coins and uses the high-security campus, which is under 24-hour military and security protection, as a
Distribution center for euro banknotes.

A CBI spokesman said a move to a new center would take seven years. It is likely that a new, secure facility will need to be commissioned before the current site can be decommissioned.