New state-of-the-art IT Campus on course for site in Ferrybank
EXCITING news on Wexford’s property front came this week with reports that Carlow IT has agreed to buy 32 acres of land at Ferrybank, owned by the St. John of God Order, for the building of a new state-of-the-art Wexford Campus.
The site with stunning sea views which is adjacent to Ely and Wexford Swimming Pool, was placed on the market last October and a deal was concluded in the past week by auctioneers Kehoe and Associates for an amount in excess of the guide price of €2.2 million.
Neither the auctioneer nor a Wexford Campus representative would confirm or deny that Carlow IT is in the process of purchasing the site conveniently located across Wexford Bridge.
However, Colum Murphy, Managing Director of Kehoe and Associates did reveal that a sale has been agreed on the entire parcel of land in the past few days following a period of ‘competitive bidding’ by a number of parties.
‘I cannot comment on the identity of the buyer. It was a private treaty sale. We have agreed a sale. It is a phenomenal site, a landmark site of 32 acres overlooking the harbour. It’s unbelievable, a five minute walk from Wexford town,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Head of Wexford Campus Janette Davies said she is hopeful there will be a positive announcement about the college project soon.
‘Significant inroads have been made and a lot of hard work done by all the key stakeholders in the provision of a new campus for County Wexford. I am expecting there will be positive news,’ she said when contacted on Monday afternoon.
It is understood that a meeting of the Governing body of IT Carlow is due to take place later this week.
The development comes over a year after earlier plans for a new Wexford campus on a site opposite Wexford Racecourse at Newtown Road collapsed when the sale was unexpectedly cancelled by the vendor and arrangements made to return the Institute’s deposit which had been paid over in December 2016.
That site had been taken over by NAMA before being transferred to an American private equity company.
The search for a new campus location has been ongoing since 2015 when Carlow IT was given permission by the Higher Education Authority to acquire a site in a prime location in Wexford after the college made a convincing case to the Department of Education and Skills for a new purpose-built campus to replace existing buildings in use at St. Peter’s College and the old County Hall in Spawell Road. Funding in the region of €2 million was allocated for the purchase at the time.
The St. John of God land came on the market four months ago when the nuns decided the time was right to sell the asset, according to Colum Murphy who described it then as the ‘site of the decade’.
The Wexford Campus was established by IT Carlow in 1995 to respond to the educational needs of County Wexford and the south east region and has grown rapidly over the past two decades.
While 18 acres of the Ferrybank land is zoned for residential development with 3.7 acres zoned for commercial/ mixed use and approximately 10 acres for amenity and open space, there is a provision in the Wexford Development Plan for different uses to be considered under the residential category.
IT IS A PHENOMENAL SITE, A LANDMARK SITE OF 32 ACRES OVERLOOKING THE HARBOUR, A FIVE MINUTE WALK FROM THE TOWN