Tuesday 14 April 2009

Kelleher wants to build 1,000 homes next to Adamstown

Garrett Kelleher, the Irish developer behind the Chicago Spire tower, is to seek planning permission for a €175m housing development in west Dublin. Kelleher's Shelbourne Developments is planning to build nearly 1,000 homes on a 48.2-acre site next to Adamstown train station near Lucan.

Kelleher is also planning to develop more than 6,000 sq m of commercial space, more than 2,500 sq m of shops, a crèche and a community building. Nearly 1,500 parking spaces are also planned for the 983 residential units, which are a mix of apartments and houses.

The land forms part of the Clonburris Eco District which envisages the development of up to 16,000 houses and a major shopping centre on land owned by O'Callaghan Properties, Treasury Holdings, Liam Carroll, Shelbourne and South Dublin County Council.

Kelleher is in talks with trade unions in the United States who are interested in investing in the Spire, which will be the tallest residential building in the world if and when it is completed. The unions are interested in financing the development because of the number of jobs the building's construction will create. It is not known if they want to take an equity stake in the project or just provide loan facilities.

Anglo Irish Bank provided finance for some of the work completed so far, meaning that the loan may end up in the proposed National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) as the Department of Finance has already stated that loans for "works in progress arrangements" will be transferred to NAMA's loan book.

Shelbourne is involved in a joint venture with the Office of Public Works which is planning to redevelop a number of buildings on Tara Street. It bought the Long Stone pub on Townsend Street last year as part of that landbanking. Kelleher is also involved in a plan to buy up the Mespil flats in Ballsbridge and is planning a retail and office block on the site of the former RSA headquarters on Dawson Street, planning for which will be sought shortly.

Other assets include office blocks on St Stephen's Green, a number of buildings in and around O'Connell Street and properties in Chicago, Belgium and France. He also owns St Patrick's Athletic football club.

Sunday Tribune

www.buckplanning.ie

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