Nama seeks to resurrect U2 Tower docklands proposal

The National Asset Management Agency is seeking to resurrect a plan to build a residential property in Dublin known as the U2 Tower five years after the project was shelved. Nama and US investment fund Kennedy-Wilson Holdings have drafted proposals for the development of about five acres (two hectares) of land in the city's docklands district, including the U2 Tower site, according to a filing by Kennedy-Wilson with Dublin Corporation.

The building would have 18 storeys, half as many as the original project endorsed by the Irish rock band.

Kennedy-Wilson, the largest overseas buyer of Irish real estate since the market crashed in 2008, and Nama “have collaborated their effort and inputs in devising an acceptable and viable scheme for their combined land holdings”, according to the filing.

Kennedy-Wilson controls land between State Street Corp's Irish headquarters and the U2 Tower site. David Clerkin, a spokesman for Nama, declined to comment.

Peter Collins, the Dublin-based managing director for Kennedy-Wilson's European business, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Nama and Beverly Hills, California-based Kennedy-Wilson may also develop apartments and office buildings with as many as eight storeys on their land, the filing shows.

'Knowledge and support'
The document was submitted to Dublin City Council with the "knowledge and support" of Nama, Kennedy-Wilson said in the filing that was prepared by planners Stephen Little and Associates on its behalf.

The original U2 Tower was to be built by developers Paddy McKillen and Ballymore Properties and would have been partly funded by members of the band.

The Foster and Partners-designed skyscraper would have included a studio for U2 at the top of the tower. Nama took control of the site in 2011 from the State-owned Dublin Docklands Development Authority. – (Bloomberg)