NAMA invites proposals to acquire long leasehold interest on key Dublin Docklands site

•  This site has potential to accommodate up to 500,000 square feet of office and retail space and 160 new homes
• Site accounts for 15 per cent of all NAMA-linked undeveloped land in the Docklands

Wednesday 4th June 2014 – The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has today invited proposals from interested parties to acquire a long leasehold interest in a key 2.35 hectare site in Dublin’s Docklands. NAMA has previously announced plans to invest heavily and to otherwise facilitate development in this area to deliver a strong commercial return.

The interest being offered in this site is a long leasehold, with the purchaser having the right to develop, manage and realise the site. The Agency will retain the freehold interest, thereby generating and maximising its return via a ground rent structure.

The site earmarked for development is located on North Wall Quay, next to the proposed new headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland. It is located within Block 8 of the Docklands SDZ Planning Scheme, which was recently approved by An Bord Pleanála. The SDZ requires a focus on employment within this block. It is also expected that approximately 160 new homes will be delivered as part of the overall development.

NAMA will play a number of roles in the Docklands in the coming years, including releasing sites for investors to develop and providing direct funding to debtors and receivers to support commercial and residential development.

The site consists of two separate parcels of land that were previously assembled by two NAMA debtors acting independently of each other. Following the Agency’s decision to appoint receivers in both cases, NAMA’s analysis showed the best financial return for the taxpayer would be achieved by combining these parcels into one site to create greater economies of scale and maximise the value of the overall site.

NAMA Chief Executive Brendan McDonagh said: “This is good news for the Docklands and good news for NAMA. It will introduce new investment into the area and open the door for further development in neighbouring sites. There is clearly substantial interest in developing sites in the Docklands now that approval of the SDZ has brought planning certainty and we expect this will be one of the landmark developments that should see the early return of construction activity to the Dublin Docklands”.

Note to Editors:

It is envisaged that the completed development will be similar in size to the commercial footprint of the Spencer Dock development, which includes the Convention Centre.

NAMA’s approach in respect to this site aligns with the SDZ objective of masterplanning adjoining lands, to achieve proper planning and sustainable development outcomes.

The SDZ contains overall approximately 22 hectares of undeveloped land, of which NAMA, through its debtors and receivers, has exposure to approximately 70 per cent.

The NAMA Chief Executive has announced that NAMA expects to make up to €1bn development funding available to commercial and residential development within the Docklands SDZ area over the coming years.

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