Kennedy Wilson and partners buy mixed-use development site in Ireland

Kennedy Wilson, together with its joint venture partners, has acquired a €113m mixed-use development site in Ireland.

In partnership with AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets and Cain International, the real estate investment firm said it bought the 5.9-acre City Block 3 (CB3) site in Dublin’s North Docks.

CB3 will include the development private rented sector (PRS) and office accommodation.

The acquisition was completed through two purchases from David Carson of Deloitte, acting as Receiver on behalf of the National Asset Management Agency.

Kennedy Wilson’s ownership in CB3 is 50%, with an initial equity investment of €68m. Kennedy Wilson will act as the development and asset manager of the property.

Kennedy Wilson and AXA IM - Real Assets acquired the 3.6-acre residential component of the development site through their Irish PRS joint venture, with planning permission already in place.

Separately, Kennedy Wilson and Cain International, through a 50/50 joint venture, acquired the adjoining 2.3-acre commercial component of the development site, with planning permission for over 300,000sqft of office space.

Peter Collins, the president of Kennedy Wilson Europe, said: ““We are confident in our ability bring forward this major new scheme for Dublin, given the breadth of our local development experience.

”We are excited to be growing our Irish PRS joint venture with AXA IM – Real Assets as well as partnering with Cain International, an experienced global investor, to deliver another leading project for the city and its residents.”

John O’Driscoll, the European head of transactions at AXA IM - Real Assets, said: “This investment adds to our existing high quality Irish residential portfolio held in joint venture with Kennedy Wilson.

“The Irish economy remains one of the strongest performing in Europe and the residential real estate market is further underpinned by structural demographic changes. We are excited about the potential of the well-located City Block 3 site and view it as highly complementary to the other assets in the portfolio.”

Richard Pilkington, the managing principal at Cain International, said: “We are very excited to partner with Kennedy Wilson on our first investment in Ireland.

”With its strong economic growth, high occupier demand and low Grade A vacancy, Dublin is an attractive market for commercial real estate investment.”