A receiver in NAMA has proposed Dublin’s largest ever off-campus student accommodation development.
Declan McDonald of PwC (PriceWaterhouseCooper) has requested permission to convert land owned by Wintertide Limited (under NAMA receivership) and CIE near the 3 Arena into a student accommodation complex – with a capacity for 970 students.
McDonald said that the planned site of development is in an “excellent location”.
McDonald added that the development would be in a “prime docklands site, that is within walking distance of the National College of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute of Technology and a number of private colleges.”
The proposed Point Village location will contain two blocks of up to six and eight storeys and feature five to eight bed spaces, in addition to twin and single units for study.
Due to the proximity of the Point Village Luas line, McDonald believes that students will have “easy access to Cherrywood, Tallaght and the Grangegorman Student Campus as soon as the Luas Cross City project is complete.”
Both DTZ Sherry Fitzgerald and other unnamed stakeholders are involved in the proposal as property advisors.
“Given the well documented issue of the lack of supply of student accommodation in Dublin, this initiative will bring high quality and extra capacity at a time where it is much needed,” said Brendan McDonagh, the Chief Executive of NAMA.
The accommodation development is being designed by TP Bennett Architects, a firm that has a speciality for designing student housing units.
DCU’s welfare officer, Domhnaill Harkin said “I think it is a great idea – there is such a shortage of suitable housing for students and an initiative to provide much needed accommodation is a bonus.”
“We can’t keep burying our heads in the sand and any solution should be supported,” he concluded.
Andrew Ralph
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