International developer Hines has received planning permission to build a 2.1 million sq ft town centre at Cherrywood, including almost 1,300 apartments, office and retail space.
The approval by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council paves the way for the urban development project to begin this year, Hines said, providing 3,000 construction jobs.
As part of the €1 billion mixed use development, Hines will build 1,269 apartments to rent and 585,000sq ft of retail and office space, as well as leisure space.
The US developer intends to begin building this autumn and finish the work in three years. Hines hopes the first tenants can begin moving into the homes and business premises during the final three months of 2020.
Joint venture
The residential element of the project is being developed in a joint venture agreement involving Hines and Dutch pension investor APG Asset Management.
Additionally, the urban centre will have an array of bars and restaurants and a 200-room hotel.
Hines expects Cherrywood town centre to provide housing for more than 3,200 people in time, office accommodation for 2,300 and employment for an additional 2,500 retail and leisure workers.
"We would like to thank Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for giving their stamp of approval to the Cherrywood town project, which will form the centrepiece of the wider Cherrywood strategic development zone," said Brian Moran, Hines senior managing director.
“Today’s announcement also comes as we complete construction of the first phase of our infrastructure development project at Cherrywood, which includes three brand new flagship parks, a state-of-the-art all-weather multipurpose pitch, six new tennis courts and a sports pavilion, 5.4 kilometres of roadways, pedestrian footpaths, cycle paths, greenways and over 3,000 trees.
“Having all these elements in place will ensure that this will be a modern, healthy and dynamic community from the very beginning for the 25,000 people who will make Cherrywood their home over the coming years.”
Having recently received permission for a school to cater for up to 700 pupils, Hines has just submitted another planning application in relation to the Cherrywood project for 146 apartments, the first application outside of the town centre.
Developers such as Hines will spend an estimated €2 billion on turning Cherrywood into a self-contained suburb and town centre.
Hines and private equity fund King Street Capital bought the site out of receivership in 2014 for €270 million.
