542 new homes to be built on St Teresa’s Gardens site

The construction of a long-awaited regeneration project at the former St Teresa’s Gardens site in Dublin’s south inner city, is being officially launched, with the first homes due to be completed by early 2027.

The development by the Land Development Agency and Dublin City Council off Donore Avenue near the Liberties in Dublin 8, will deliver 542 new homes along with a crèche, community spaces and a new home for the local boxing club.

A sports pitch, café and mobility hub are also due to be developed on the site.

The new homes on the four acre site, will be located next to Dublin City Council’s development of 54 social homes on Margaret Kennedy Road on part of the former St Teresa’s Gardens land.

The development, being built by John Paul Construction, will have 233 one-bedroom apartments, 265 two-bedroom apartments and 44 three-bedroom apartments.

Of these, 389 will be cost-rental while 153 will be social housing apartments

A regeneration plan for St Teresa’s Gardens, which was once one of the city’s largest flat complexes, was first mooted 25 years ago, but in 2009 the initial plans fell victim to the collapse of the property market.

Some blocks were refurbished by 2015 but plans to construct new homes were delayed after hazardous waste was found and the soil required decontamination.

A new plan for the regeneration of the remainder of the site and the surrounding area emerged between 2017 and 2018 but parts of that have also faced setbacks and delays.

Land Development Agency CEO John Coleman said the project is a flagship development for the organisation and its first in Dublin’s inner city

“It demonstrates our ability to deliver housing on State-owned land and our ambition to create not just new homes, but new livable, sustainable and integrated communities that can cater for the needs of families, older people and renters.”

Dublin City Council CEO Richard Shakespeare said: “From the very beginning of this process, we have engaged extensively with local residents and businesses, and we are confident that once completed, the Donore Project will add significantly to what is an already thriving community.”

The LDA, the State’s affordable housing delivery body, said it is in the process of delivering more than 19,000 homes on State-owned or acquired land and over 8,000 through homebuilder partnerships.

The LDA and Dublin City Council are partnering on a number of projects on lands owned by the local authority in Cherry Orchard in west Dublin and Cromcastle Road in Coolock in north Dublin, while plans are under way for a similar project in Bluebell in south central Dublin.