Dublin City Council is seeking to borrow €36.5 million to fund more than 120 additional affordable purchase homes at the former O’Devaney Gardens site in Dublin 7.
The move, coupled with a planned increase the number of cost-rental homes, would prevent the sale of any private market housing in the vast development of more than 1,000 apartments.
The provision of private housing in the complex, now called Montpelier, almost scuppered the deal for the redevelopment of the former 1950s flat complex more than six years ago.
O’Devaney Gardens was to have been rebuilt 20 years ago under an agreement between the council and developer Bernard McNamara, but the deal collapsed at the outset of the property crash in 2008.
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Several attempts to restart the regeneration foundered over the next decade and it was not until 2019 that the council reached agreement with a new developer, Bartra, to build on the land.
There was to be a mix of 30 per cent social housing, 20 per affordable purchase housing, and 50 per cent available to Bartra to sell privately. However, councillors would not approve the deal and, to secure their agreement, Bartra offered to sell a portion of the private apartments to the council or a nominated housing body for a cost-rental scheme.
Agreement was reached with housing association Tuath to provide half the private portion as cost-rental homes for workers not eligible for social housing but struggling to afford private market rents.
Construction started in 2023 on the 1,046 homes, more than 1,000 of which are apartments, with the first completed earlier this year. The mix included 285 social homes, 233 homes for sale to buyers qualifying for the State-subsidised affordable purchase scheme, and 264 cost-rental homes. That left 264 homes for Bartra to sell privately.
Councillors will be told on Tuesday that this private block is to be divided between 122 affordable purchase, 126 cost-rental and 16 social homes. Funding for the 16 additional social homes has been approved by Department of Housing, the council said.
Separately, the council has reached agreement with Bartra in relation to the 122 affordable purchase homes. However, it said this will require it to borrow €36.5 million “to cover the cost” of constructing them. The borrowing will require the approval of councillors but, the council said the loan “will be repaid upon the sale of the affordable purchase homes”.
Tuath, which is managing the cost-rental element of the scheme, is in discussions with Bartra in relation to the provision of the additional 126 cost-rental apartments, the council said.
To date, 165 affordable purchase houses and apartments have been sold in the complex with discounted prices ranging from €248,000 to €473,100.
Under the affordable purchase scheme, eligible buyers are offered a discount on the market value of homes, with the State taking an equity stake to reflect the discount given. Buyers on lower incomes pay less, but the State takes a higher stake in their homes than with people on higher incomes.
Applications for the first 75 cost-rental homes – with rents set at €1,490 for a one-bedroom apartment, €1,695 for a two-bed and €1,895 for a three-bed – for workers with net incomes of less than €66,000, closed at 2pm on Monday.
A spokeswoman for Tuath said it is “in the process of finalising contracts to provide another 126 cost rental homes in Montpelier”.
Bartra did not respond to requests for comment.
