Johnny Ronan looking to build 516 apartments at Irish Glass Bottle site

Consortium led by developer to lodge plans with Dublin City Council in coming days

Johnny Ronan-led consortium Pembroke Beach DAC includes Nama and Oaktree Capital. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Johnny Ronan-led consortium Pembroke Beach DAC includes Nama and Oaktree Capital. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

A Johnny Ronan-led consortium is to lodge plans in the coming days to Dublin City Council for 516 apartments at the former Irish Glass Bottle site at Poolbeg in Dublin.

In a statutory planning notice, the consortium, Pembroke Beach DAC, has confirmed that the 516 apartments will include 143 “build to rent” units, 52 social housing units, 77 affordable housing units and 244 apartments for private sale.

Nama and co-owner of Lioncor Developments, Oaktree Capital, are also part of the consortium. The scheme comprises 180 one-bedroom units, 252 two-bedroom units, and 84 three-bedroom units. The 516 apartments are to be provided in two blocks ranging from four to 10 storeys in height.

The plan will also include five cafes/restaurants, 14 retail units, one food hall and one health facility. The scheme will also include the development of a south bank link road.

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The notice states that the mixed-use scheme represents phase two of the 37.2-acre redevelopment of the Irish Glass Bottle and Fabrizia sites at Poolbeg west, Dublin 4. The second phase is focused primarily on a five-acre plot within the site.

Pembroke Beach currently has a separate planning application before Dublin City Council for 356 residential units.

Parent permission

The council has granted a parent permission for the Irish Glass site redevelopment in January 2020, permitting streets, transportation, water services, utilities infrastructure and public realm and public amenity spaces.

The current 356-unit Pembroke application before the council – lodged in March – proposes an apartment block ranging in height from five to 18 storeys over basement.

The scheme will consist of 89 one-bedroom units, 213 two-bedroom units and 54 three-bedroom units. Out of the 356 units, 55 are to be affordable housing apartments and 37 are to be social housing apartments.

Last month Dublin City Council put the plan on hold for further information on various aspects of the scheme.

In December 2020, Nama confirmed that Johnny Ronan and Oaktree signed up to purchase 80 per cent of the former Irish Glass Bottle site and adjoining plot. It was reported at the time that the winning bid for the controlling interest came to a higher-than-expected €200 million.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times