State’s first co-operative housing rental scheme redeveloped

The State’s first co-operative housing rental scheme, built almost 30 years ago, has been renewed following an extensive construction and refurbishment programme.

Greenlawns Co-operative, in Coolock on Dublin’s northside, was built in 1986 on land donated by the local parish in Bonnybrook and funded by the Coolock-Artane Credit Union. It was the first development of its kind.

A significant redevelopment and refurbishment of the estate by the National Association of Building Co-operatives (Nabco) has just been completed at a cost of €1.5 million.

The project involved the original 17 dwellings being refurbished with replacement kitchens and bathrooms, replacement windows and doors, upgrading of existing heating and electrical services and re-landscaping of a shared central courtyard. Some houses were extended with the construction of new projecting bays.

Two new dwellings were also built. Four of the original houses had been empty and as a result six families from the Dublin City Council housing waiting list have been allocated homes. The development also included the provision of a new communal room for community activity and was completed in just eight months.

Nabco chief executive Niall O’Keeffe said Greenlawns was a very successful example of the housing co-operative model, which involves tenants becoming shareholders in the co-operative, entitling them to vote on how their estate operates.