Bartra Bartra

PLANS FOR THE €400 million redevelopment of O’Devaney Gardens on Dublin’s northside have been submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

Developer Bartra’s “fast track” scheme is to comprise 1,047 residential units across 10 apartment blocks. One of the blocks will be 14 storeys in height, with two others rising to 12 storeys.

Bartra is due to sell half the homes on the site to Dublin City Council for social housing and affordable purchase housing if the redevelopment is approved. 

The Strategic Housing Development (SHD) plan for the site comes after a last-minute deal was struck between the Council and the developer last year. 

Bartra has said it plans to build 162 three-bed units, 567 two-bed units and 318 one-bed units as part of the redevelopment which includes eight duplex units and 17 two and three-storey houses. 

The plans also include provision for 276 car parking spaces and 2,000 bicycle parking space in addition to 2,294 sqm of retail, creche and community facilities.

It follows years of failed attempts to redevelop O’Devaney Gardens, which was first built in 1954 and originally designed for social housing. 

A number of Councillors objected to last year’s deal, saying they opposed Bartra profiting from public land. 

The Council last year asked Bartra to sell a further 30% of the units to an approved housing body for a cost rental project but no legal obligation was attached to this request.

Tuath and Circle housing were selected by the Council to negotiate with Bartra for this element of the redevelopment, which was originally set to deliver 824 units but was subsequently increased by Bartra to 1,047 units in total. 

Question remain over where funding will come from to buy these units from Bartra, how much each unit will cost to build, and if the number of cost rental units will be increased in line with the revised total of 1,047.