NAMA ready to develop airport land taken from McNamara
The state loans agency, NAMA, is developing a major project near Dublin Airport after it placed a site owned by developer Bernard McNamara into receivership.
A receiver put in place by NAMA has applied for planning permission at the site on St Margaret's Road for a warehouse and distribution building, with offices, staff facilities internal roads and 89 car parking spaces. The warehouse will come to 5,389 square metres.
The company that owned the site originally, Lindrake Developments, was placed in receivership by NAMA, with the contract going to Declan Taite of Farrell Grant Sparks. The original loan to buy the site was advanced by Anglo Irish Bank.
Assets
NAMA holds €30.5bn of assets in its portfolio and while it has advanced working capital to complete existing projects, it has not filed many planning permissions -- via receivers -- for projects that are starting from scratch.
However, it is understood a number of developers have filed for planning, or planning extensions, as a way to enhance the value of their land.
In most cases, these are being granted in the Dublin area, although last year Fingal County Council rejected a number of applications for re-zoning.
Land surrounding Dublin airport has retained its value better than many other locations in the city, sources said yesterday, as logistics and distribution operations traditionally locate in the area, to be near to freight operations at the airport.
NAMA has said since its establishment in 2009 that it will try to enhance projects where that is the best way to get return for taxpayers. In other cases sites will simply return to agricultural use.
The last set of accounts for Lindrake put the value of its land at €92m, with over €60m of bank debt on the site. At that point the company's auditors said the property market was in flux and valuing assets was proving difficult.
Meanwhile, the north Co Dublin developer Gerry Gannon has applied to Fingal County Council for planning permission to build 224 houses on lands north of Rathbeale Road and Glen Ellan Road in Swords.
- Emmet Oliver Deputy Business Editor
Irish Independent
