€150m plan for Bolands Mills gets the green light
A €150m development of the Bolands Mills site in Grand Canal Dock has been given the green light by Dublin City Council.
Nama will finance the mixed-use development, close to the site held by rebels led by Eamon de Valera during the Easter Rising in 1916.
The proposed development will provide 36,759 square metres of office, residential and retail space including cafes, restaurants and "cultural space".
Most of the development will be office space, but it will also include 42 two and three-bedroom apartments.
delighted
Mark Reynolds of Savills, who is acting as receiver for the property, applied last February to develop it as part of the Strategic Development Zone in the docklands.
Those plans have had to be amended, however, after concerns were raised by the council.
Among the changes is the actual colour of the properties, while there have been other alterations to the design.
Mr Reynolds was delighted with the council's decision, saying it was "great news for the docklands and Dublin as a whole".
Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh welcomed the planning approval.
"The agency recognises the positive and proactive approach of the city council, both in approving the SDZ Scheme in 2014 and in progressing complex planning permissions such as this one since then," he said.
"Nama is committed to increasing the value of secured assets in our portfolio and maximising the amount we can recover for taxpayers."
The site was bought by a company tied to developer Sean Kelly for €42m during the boom, but plans to build offices and apartments never got off the ground.
Last December, US investment fund Oaktree, along with the Bennett construction group and Nama, submitted plans for a €450m development at 5 Hanover Quay and 76 Sir John Rogerson's Quay.
Dublin City Council signed off on planning permission for that site in April.
Nearby, US investment giant Kennedy Wilson is seeking planning permission to build 313,000 square feet of office space and 204 apartments at the Capital Docks site on John Rogerson's Quay, close to the East Link Bridge and opposite the 3Arena.
The €200m development includes plans for three office blocks and two apartment buildings including one that will be 19 floors (66 metres) tall.