State fund to lend up to €50m for Cherrywood infrastructure

The State’s Ireland Strategic Investment Fund is to lend up to €50 million to a developer to help it build key infrastructure to support the construction of more than 4,000 new homes in south Dublin.

The debt facility, of about €50 million, is to be provided to US property giant Hines to fund construction of infrastructure, such as roads, waste and utilities, at the Cherrywood Strategic Development Zone in south Dublin.

Last week Hines submitted a planning application for the town centre at Cherrywood, which would see the construction of almost 1,300 apartments and more than two million square feet of mixed-use retail, leisure and residential.

The new town centre will be constructed on an elevated site, integrating the existing Luas stops at Cherrywood and Bride’s Glen, and will include a selection of open and covered public spaces. The new town centre will be located alongside Tully Park, which is currently under construction, and will be equivalent in size to St Stephen’s Green. There will be two underground car parks, 2,600 bicycle parking spaces and more than 150 charging points for electric vehicles.

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Much-needed housing

As a strategic development zone, certain enabling infrastructure needs to be put in place before residential and commercial development can take place, hence the debt facility from the State fund.

“The upfront development of essential infrastructure for Cherrywood such as roads, cycleways, utilities and three very substantial parks is a key part of the strategy to expedite the delivery of much-needed housing for south Dublin,” said Brian Moran, senior managing director of Hines Ireland.

The fund said it was exploring further similar investments that meet its “double bottom line” mandate of generating commercial return and economic impact, where enabling infrastructure is required to facilitate development of residential housing on large sites and in areas of strategic importance.