US-based privately-held developer-investor Hines and partner APG Asset Management (APG) have announced plans to invest an additional €700 mln in new ‘build-to-rent’ development opportunities in Cherrywood and across Dublin city in the coming years.
With a conservative level of debt funding, Hines and APG plan to grow the BTR platform beyond the 1,269 units currently secured at their Cherrywood project to deliver 3,000 units across the Greater Dublin Area.
The new agreement will ultimately take the two partners' total capital invested in the region to over €1.1 bn.
Hines and APG first announced in January that they were joining forces to develop and hold the BTR multifamily residential element and ancillary retail space at Cherrywood in Dublin.
Hines co-invests alongside APG into the joint venture which will fund the construction of 1,221 fully serviced Build-to-Rent apartments along with street level shops and cafes in the new Cherrywood Town Centre. The total development cost for this project is around €450 mln.
Cherrywood is a government-designated Strategic Development Zone project to build a new town in the borough of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown comprising over 7,700 new homes, six schools, three major parks and leisure facilities, supported by an existing light rail system and serving an eventual planned population of 25,000 people.
Construction of Cherrywood Town Centre commenced this month, with the first apartment blocks expected to be completed by mid-2020.
Gary Corrigan, managing director with Hines Real Estate Ireland said 'Our new partnership framework aims to acquire and develop other projects and build out the joint venture into a substantial €1.1 bn private rental platform for Dublin as a whole. The greatest demand remains to be for apartments and Hines and APG have developed an excellent build-to rent model that can deliver a high quality, innovative design and a highly sustainable portfolio that will make a lasting contribution in addressing the ongoing housing challenges that currently exist in Dublin.'
Paul van Stiphout, senior portfolio manager at APG Asset Management added 'We continuously seek attractive real estate investments throughout Europe that help us realise stable and long-term returns for our pension fund clients and their participants. In a severely undersupplied market such as Dublin, we are pleased that our investment will help to address this unserved need in an even more meaningful way. With the focus on build-to-rent housing, we remain committed to making Dublin a core, long-term holding in our global real estate portfolio.'
