Former Marist Brothers home on market for €1m

The former residence of the Marist Brothers in Athlone town centre is now on the market for an estimated is €1m. Champagnat House occupies a prominent position on the corner of Gleeson Street/Ballymahon Road.

The property was built circa 1870, and was owned by the Marist Order and known as The Hill House, from the early 1900s.

It was used, under lease, for many years as The Imperial Hotel before being fully taken over by the Marist in 1938.

The final two Marist brothers left Champagnat House in Gleeson Street in August 2022.

The Marist Brothers established their first school in Athlone in 1884 and Marist College was located firstly in St Mary’s Square before moving to Retreat Road, Athlone in 1973.

In 2000, the Marist Boys Primary School on Grace Park Road amalgamated with the Bower Girls Primary School in Lower Retreat and Fairgreen National School to form the present-day St Mary's School.

The agents handling the sale, Avison Young, says the property presents a rare opportunity to acquire a substantial residential refurbishment and redevelopment opportunity in a prime town centre location directly opposite Sheraton Athlone Hotel, adjoining St. Mary's Square, close to Golden Island Shopping Centre.

The property comprises a substantial three-storey end-of-terrace building extending to approximately 1,256 sq.m, together with an interconnected hall and a number of ancillary outbuildings on a site of approximately 0.251 hectares (0.62 acres).

The property offers significant refurbishment and redevelopment potential.

The entire property is zoned 'Mixed Use' in the Athlone Town Development Plan 2014–2020, supporting a broad range of potential future uses, subject to planning.

Avison Young said: “The property presents an excellent opportunity to comprehensively refurbish and re-purpose the existing accommodation, with potential for conversion to multi-unit residential use, student accommodation, offices, public house, restaurant, hotel / leisure (SPP).

“In the short term, the property also offers the potential to generate rental income in a well-established residential and student accommodation location, benefiting from its close proximity to Technological University of the Shannon.