New social housing for 20 families in former Dublin ghost estate

Apartments in a former ghost estate in Inchicore, Dublin, will provide homes for 20 families on Dublin City Council’s housing waiting list within weeks.

The apartments at Camac Court were originally developed by Liam Carroll’s Danninger Group, but the estate remained unfinished when his property empire collapsed and was put into receivership by Bank of Scotland Ireland.

The social housing element of the estate has now been completed by the National Association of Building Co-operatives (Nabco). A further 140 private apartments and houses have been finished by Canadian development company Capreit.

The 20 Nabco apartments will be available to social housing tenants by the end of this month. Applicants are offered accommodation when they come to the top of a local authority’s waiting list.

Under the Nabco model, however, tenants become shareholders in the co-operative for a one-off fee of €80, which entitles them to vote on how their estate operates. The Inchicore apartments are the first of two Nabco developments in Dublin which will soon be available to social housing tenants.

Nabco has acquired 13 apartments in Drumcondra through Nama which it expects to make available to tenants soon.

The apartments at Calderwood are the first Nama-controlled properties Nabco has secured in Dublin. The deal, which involves a 20-year lease with a right to buy, is part of Nama’s commitment to provide social housing from the national stock of vacant units in its portfolio of loans.

The agency two years ago established Nama Asset Residential Property Services Ltd to acquire vacant properties from debtors for use by local authorities and housing associations.

Nabco last year became the first approved housing body to enter into an agreement to lease properties from the Nama company, acquiring units at an estate in Cobh Co, Cork. It is at various stages of negotiation with the agency in relation to leasing up to 60 more homes.

Nabco is also planning to build several housing developments in Dublin. It intends to apply for planning permission for about 30 homes at a site on Richmond Road in Drumcondra, with construction to begin next year. It is also shortly to submit a feasibility study to Dublin City Council on the redevelopment of a 100-year-old derelict flat block at Moss Street in the southeast inner city.