The Land Development Agency (LDA) has signed a contract with the McGarrell Reilly Group to deliver 247 cost-rental apartments in Hatsfield, north-west Dublin as part of its Project Tosaigh initiative.
Construction has commenced at the 1.67-hectare site, and the homes are expected to be completed in 2024 before being made available to rent by the LDA.
Adjacent to Hansfield train station, the Barnwell Point Apartments development will comprise 20 studios, 50 one-bed apartments, 164 two-bed apartments, 12 two-bed duplexes, and one three-bed apartment as well as 272 car parking and 400 bike spaces
The LDA expects to deliver 5,000 affordable homes through partnerships with housebuilders as part of the multi-phase Project Tosaigh program by the end of 2026, in addition to direct delivery of housing by the agency on state lands.
Housing delivered under Project Tosaigh will comprise of homes for rent and affordable purchase under the government’s affordable housing mechanisms.
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Project Tosaigh was announced last year in Housing for All to accelerate the delivery of new housing on private land with planning permission where progress has stalled due to financing and other constraints.
"The announcement of the second Project Tosaigh project demonstrates the progress the LDA is making in accelerating the delivery of affordable housing," Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien said.
"Through Housing for All, our plan for housing to 2030, we will ensure that land with planning permission doesn’t sit idle when families and individuals urgently want their own home. With the LDA we will deliver social, affordable purchase and cost rental homes at scale.”
John Coleman, CEO of the LDA, said: “Project Tosaigh is providing an important mechanism for us to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing by supporting housing construction on private land where it had stalled.
"We intend to deliver 5,000 affordable homes by 2026 through this approach, substantially increasing our delivery capability in the short-term.
"Whilst our longer-term approach continues to focus on publicly owned land, it makes sense for the LDA to step in as a catalyst to speed up affordable homes delivery that is needed now, with the security of knowing all homes will be either retained in public ownership or made available for households to purchase on an affordable basis.”
The LDA now has a pipeline of 1,000 affordable for sale and cost-rental homes through Project Tosaigh following the launch of an expressions of interest process at the end of 2021.
The developments, located in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare, represent the first phase of the process, with the LDA itself set to deliver 6,000 homes on its existing portfolio of state lands.
They included the Shanganagh development of 597 social and affordable homes near Shankill; 977 social and affordable homes on the site of Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, and the redevelopment of the Cork City Docklands to accommodate 25,000 residents.
A further 10,000 to 15,000 homes are anticipated after 2026 from the transfer of additional state lands announced in Housing For All last September.
The LDA and local authorities are now seeking further submissions from the housebuilding sector to deliver housing/apartments based on an agreement for the LDA or its nominees to purchase the homes upon completion.
While the process is open to all proposals, the LDA said it would prioritise proposals for higher density homes in the cities of Dublin and Cork, where the homes would otherwise struggle to be advanced in the current market environment.
Photo: A CGI image of the proposed Barnwell Point Apartments in Dublin 15. (Pic: LDA)
