A new social housing complex has been opened in Dublin's Ballyfermot by the Iveagh Trust.
Residents were handed the keys to their new apartments this morning, and expect to move in in a couple of weeks.
The derelict site was taken over by the Iveagh Trust who built 70 one bed apartments for older people at a cost of 10 million euros.
A number of the tenants are downsizing, this was a goal of the Iveagh Trust as it frees up social housing for families.
In this case, 16 homes are being given back to Dublin City Council by people who are downsizing.
Ann Uzell is one such person, and says she has no regrets;
Ann and family in her new apartment.
Gene Clayton is CEO of the Iveagh Trust;
Commenting ahead of the launch, Mr. Gene Clayton, CEO of the Iveagh Trust said:
“This is a great example of what can be achieved by housing associations and local authorities working closely together. The Trust approached Dublin City Council with a proposal to redevelop and completely regenerate what was a derelict sheltered housing scheme of 38 units. The local authority owned site provided the Trust with an opportunity to deliver a state-of-the-art housing scheme for older people, adjacent to a long established community, with an ageing population. The agreed design has almost doubled the number of homes over and above that previously provided on this site.”
“We are delighted to see that proposal come to fruition today, as the final tenants at Annamore receive the keys to their new homes.” “One of the real positives of this scheme is that a substantial number of our new tenants are downsizing from 3 and 4 bed houses, unlocking capacity and freeing up these larger homes for families on the housing waiting list”.
“Annamore Court is the first social housing new-build to benefit from funding provided by the Housing Finance Agency and the European Investment Bank, leveraged against 30% CALF finance from the Department of Housing. The release of the land by Dublin City Council has enabled the Trust to deliver these new “A” rated homes at an average cost of just €142,000 per unit.” “As with all Iveagh Trust developments, our staff will not only work there, but live there. We bring over 125 years of housing management experience to Annamore Court and our team are really looking forward to helping the new community there establish and thrive”.
