Nama to sell 440 homes and shops

A mixed-use retail and multi-family apartment development at Tallaght Cross West in Dublin 24 is to be offered for sale on behalf of Nama at over €80 million.

Selling agents DTZ Sherry FitzGerald believe that the two segments of the scheme will be producing a rental income of around €6.8 million by the time the sale is completed. If that figure is reached, new owners will be able to bank on a net yield of over 6 per cent.

Tallaght Cross West was built by Liam Carroll of Zoe Developments just before the property crash in 2008 and includes three office blocks, a hotel and 442 apartments with ground floor retail space. Mr Carroll's companies folded with debts of about € 2.8 billion of which € 1.1 billion alone was owed to AIB.

It is the largest number of apartments to come on the market in a single development in Dublin and is expected to be of particular appeal to the various REIT companies as well as overseas investment groups specialising in the residential market.

Receiver David Carson of Deloitte and asset manager WK Nowlan have made considerable progress managing the Tallaght Cross West venture over the past four years. They have spent a small fortune on behalf of Nama finishing off various parts of the scheme and fitting out the apartments to enable them to be let. They have also managed to find a buyer for the vacant 186-bedroom hotel which will open in the run-up to Christmas.

The management has also had considerable success in managing the three office blocks which have a combined floor area of 12,077 sq m (130,000 sq ft). Buyers have been found for two of the three buildings which greatly strengthen the identity of Tallaght Cross.

The first block known as Rivers is already occupied by the National Emergency Operations Centre and the National Ambulance Service Education Centre. The HSE is also fitting out the second block for use as a possible diagnostics centre.

The great variety of medical uses to be based there opens up the prospect of it ending up as a destination “medical village.”

Meanwhile, the third office block is under offer.

Part of the apartment development with 65 homes have also been allocated to NARPS, a Nama-led method of delivering social housing in areas of greatest need.

The retail element of Tallaght Cross has also begun to kick in with Aldi already trading and paying a rent of €625,480 per annum. Around 22 further retail units, currently in shell condition, are also to be made available for letting.

The Deloitte/WK Nowlan partnership is also making rapid progress fitting out and letting the apartments which are in much demand because of the relatively affordable rents – €1,000 for one-beds; €1,200 for two-beds and €1,450 for three-beds – at a time when rents in the city centre have shot up in the past year.

The heavily used Luas service from Tallaght Cross to the city centre has meant that a great many workers are opting to reside in Tallaght because of the availability of apartments at reasonable rents. The sale will also include 1,600 car parking spaces within a three-level basement.

Ivan Gain of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald said he was convinced the landmark, high yielding opportunity would appeal to domestic and international multi-family specialists who could build on the momentum and success already delivered by the existing asset management team.

All apartments had just been fitted and furnished to a high standard so quite uniquely the residential units were in near pristine condition.

The medical/health/leisure uses were becoming ever more evident within the campus and as occupation of the remaining offices would take place early next year there would be further commercial opportunities.