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PROPERTY DEVELOPER BARTRA Capital is prepared to give over almost a third of units which are intended for private housing at the redeveloped O’Devaney Gardens for cost-rental housing instead, TheJournal.ie understands.
It means that more units at the site will have rents that are based on the cost of building and maintaining their development, rather than being set at a rate that maximises profit.
The proposal follows an agreement between the developer and Dublin City Council’s ‘Dublin Agreement’ group, who will meet discuss it tomorrow.
The plans could pave the way for councillors to agree to proceed with a new housing development on the site at the council’s monthly meeting next week.
The proposed development was the subject of controversy ahead of last month’s meeting, after a council report revealed that ‘affordable’ homes at the site would cost an average of €300,000, with some three-bedroom apartments priced at €420,000.
Councillors agreed to postpone a decision on the redevelopment of the site at the time, after a letter from Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy suggested that his Department could pull funding from the site if councillors rejected the agreement.
The minister also said that a failure by councillors to accept the proposals would be a “significant blow” to the city and call into question the council’s ability to deliver homes.
Bartra has been contracted to build 768 houses and apartments on the site. Currently, 50% of the scheme – 411 units – has been earmarked for private housing.
A further 30% has been ringfenced for social housing, with another 20% set to become affordable housing.
However the developer has reportedly agreed to sell up to 30% of those 411 prviate units to an approved housing body for cost-rental housing instead.
Although the total number of private houses which Bartra is prepared to sell has yet to be agreed, the move could see the end of a deadlock on whether to proceed with proposals.
Plans to redevelop the site have been in place for more than a decade, before the sod was turned on the first phase in the regeneration development last year, with 56 units of social housing expected to be ready at the site in 2020.
A spokesperson for Bartra declined to comment about the latest proposals when contacted by TheJournal.ie.
The company, founded by property developer and entrepreneur Richard Barrett, has been involved in a number of other developments across the capital.
Earlier this month, it was granted permission to build a 10-storey development in the Docklands, while it was also given permission to construct a controversial co-living development in Dun Laoghaire in June.
With reporting from Cónal Thomas.
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@dangle,what a nasty comment!!Wonder what was said by people like you about the Irish in the famine times!Same on you.
Amazing how these people keep on breeding even though food and water is had to come by in a poverty stricken kip
that it is!
You’re talking about human beings, not animals. Saying they are breeding is disgusting.
They are some of the poorest people in the world. Without access to basic needs like food and water, do you really think contraception is available?
Also, culturally African people generally have larger families for a variety of reasons, not unlike Irish people only two generations ago.
But it IS a poverty stricken kip, and they ARE breeding even though they know they will not be able to raise their kids. If I did not have the resources to take care of myself, I would not even think of bringing a child into the world. It would be a life of misery and starvation; nasty, brutish and short.
Gerry b does it need to be breaking news to keep these atrocities in the public domain???
Yawn
That’s the third time in less than 24 hours, that “the journal” has posted a news article on this same issue. It’s not big news, is it?????
I reckon u guys think this sort of story will provoke some interesting comments, as people’s attitudes on this sort of aid appeal tend to be so extreme.
Gerry B, if 10 MILLION people suffering drought conditions, destitute and barely surviving is not big news to you, what is?
Maybe you prefer to live in a bubble where we rehash the bank bailout arguement day in, day out.
Kinda puts our predicament into perspective I think.
Lenny, I accept your point, however, my comment still stands valid. This unfortunate situation Is not really breaking news and the fact that it has been featured on the journal 3 times in 14 hours, seems bizarre. I dont recall any reference to this story on tonights rte 9 pm news.
Ok, well I’ll stick with the journal covering everything from Irish news, columns, live sport updates to chocolate printers than
rte’s biased political reports to dinners flying on fair city.
I accept our differences.
have your say