Kildare residential setting is set to expand with new units at adjacent property

The McAuley Place residential development in Naas is set to expand.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is planning to build 45 residential units at a property adjacent to McAuley Place at Sallins Road. /However the project is in the very early stages of development

A public consultation process is planned to take place by the end of March 2025.

In July 2023, the Leinster Leader reported that centre management had agreed to buy adjacent properties and land - which would facilitate a significant extension.

The property was owned by a family who are well known locally  with strong links to the community.The house served for a time in previous years as a Presbyterian church.

The deal is believed to include a house occupying just over 2,300 square feet as well as three terraced cottages each occupying 700 square feet and the property.

It’s thought the entire lot was sold for €1.8m.

The property was due to go under the hammer in July 2023 but was withdrawn from the public market. It is accessible by vehicles from Sallins Road.

McAuley Place, which opened in spring 2011, consists of 53 self-contained apartments and  is a managed service providing  housing for older people who are capable of independent living. 

The project is well regarded locally.

The setting offers the comfort of home with easy access to shops, restaurants, the church, the post office and other services. Each apartment comprises one bedroom with a fully equipped kitchen/sitting room and a bathroom with a level-access shower. It is an attractive alternative to institutional residential care. 

The project's ambition was to create “an intergenerational and creative environment, in the heart of the town where older persons would choose to live if they could no longer remain independent at home but did not need full nursing care..”

McAuley Place says it is “values driven with respect as the core value” and it aims to  “reweave the tapestry of the generations.”

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In a statement at the time McAuley Place said it was established in 2000 and is a voluntary non-denominational, not for profit, housing association with charitable status.

"Our vision is to bring older persons to the heart of a vibrant community. The facilities at McAuley Place are today’s real representation of that vision. We place huge emphasis on promoting opportunities for lifelong learning, - the arts are central to this policy - and on ensuring social inclusion for residents and for the wider community.

"We rely on the generosity of the community and a core group of fifty volunteers to keep the vision alive.”