NAMA unveils plans for €7.5b development spree in Ireland

Ireland's bad bank National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) said on Thursday it is looking for joint venture partners for a major development programme that aims to deliver almost 4 million sq ft of new commercial space in Dublin Docklands and 20,000 new homes mostly in the Irish capital.

By teaming up with partners, NAMA said it is looking to de-risk the development drive which will require a total funding of €7.5 bn including €5.6 bn for residential and €1.9 bn for the Docklands commercial project.

NAMA plans to recycle the funds from the sale of completed assets into new commercially viable projects, which should lower funding needs to a peak of €2.3 bn.

Michael Noonan, Minister for Finance, said: 'NAMA’s commitment to the Dublin Docklands SDZ combined with its efforts to provide much needed supply of residential units will continue to encourage Start-Ups and Multi-Nationals alike to have confidence in identifying Dublin as the home of choice for their businesses and will allow us to continue to punch above our weight in the global competition to attract and retain talent.'

Frank Daly, NAMA Chairman, said: 'NAMA has committed itself to funding the delivery of much-needed office space and quality homes and, in doing so, it hopes to leave a lasting and positive legacy for the coming decades.'

NAMA said it is 'confident' that the new programmes will not affect its plan to redeem all of its senior debt by 2018 and its subordinated debt by 2020.

The Dublin Docklands programme will include almost 4 million sq ft of office space, 66,000 sq ft of retail space as well as 2,000 new homes, 13,000 sq ft of restaurant space and 18,000 sq ft of new cultural and community space and high-quality civic plazas.

Construction work is now underway in three sites, 8 Hanover Quay, Boland’s Quay, and Capital Dock, which will offer a total of 782,000 sq ft and 246 homes.

On three other sites involving 608,000 sq ft of space and 161 homes, planning permission has been obtained and construction work will start imminently.

BOLAND'S QUAY
As part of the Boland's Quay development, NAMA announced that it is providing €170 mln to fund the project, which is being developed by Savills, a NAMA-appointed receiver, and which recently received planning approval.

NAMA is funding the demolition and enabling works phase at Boland’s Quay over the next 10 months and has committed to funding all construction work on the site, which is expected to be completed by Quarter 3 2018.

This project will include two office buildings of 274,000 sq ft 41 apartments, 15,000 sq ft of retail and commercial space as well as cultural/community space of 5,910 sq ft.

'The development of Boland’s Quay is now full steam ahead,' said Mark Reynolds of Savills. 'This will be one of the most significant construction projects this city has seen over the past 10 years and it has been supported by the SDZ fast-track planning scheme introduced by Dublin City Council, which has seen us bring the project from planning stages to development in less than a year.'