Oaklee, an award-winning Approved Housing Body, has officially launched its first cost rental homes at The Sidings in Adamstown in County Dublin in partnership with Quintain Ireland and South Dublin County Council.
This new development is one of the largest cost rental projects in the country and involves a mixture of 154 one, two, and three-bed homes.
Cost rental housing is designed to provide affordable and secure accommodation for those on middle incomes, with rents based solely on the cost of construction, management, and maintenance.
Monthly rents for the homes at The Sidings apartment development are at least 25% below market rates and range from €1,525-€1,800. The 154 apartments include 71 one-bed, 81 two-bed and two 3-beds.
Oaklee is delivering the homes with the support of South Dublin County Council (SDCC) through funding from the Department of Housing’s Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme and private financing from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA).
Oaklee already manages over 2,500 homes across 19 counties, but this new development marks its first launch of cost rental homes, a tenure the organisation expects to deliver more of in future. All the of homes are A-rated, high-quality and spacious with fully fitted kitchens and built-in wardrobes.
The development was designed by Henry J Lyons and delivered by Quintain to complement the first phase of development at The Crossings urban village. The Sidings is a nine storey “gateway” building and a visual marker for this new neighbourhood. The architectural design includes feature balconies, brickwork and active frontages to the Ground Floor level which positively attributes to the street environments and residents of The Crossings.
The Sidings apartment development forms phase 2 of The Crossings, a new urban village located at the heart of Adamstown with a host of services and amenities already in situ and with more to come. Quintain has already delivered 279 apartments in The Crossings, with a further 436 apartments under construction and a fourth phase currently being master planned.
The village centre includes a large shopping centre with Tesco and Aldi supermarkets, other individual retail outlets including McCabes, Grafton Barbers, Urban Vets, Belfry&Co and ABC Gym. The development also includes a public plaza and a three-acre public park while there are several creches and schools nearby. The Crossings is also located next to a purpose-built train station on the main west Dublin commuter and intercity train lines with excellent access to the N4 and the M50.
Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien commented, “For Oaklee to be launching its first Cost Rental scheme here in Dublin is hugely welcome. The development in Adamstown will provide secure, high-quality homes which will make a real difference in the lives of more than 150 families and individuals. It’s clear that the hard work and effective collaboration between our local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, such as Oaklee, is delivering the quantity and mix of homes which are needed to meet the needs of our people. Affordable cost rental is a key element of Housing for All and has already been extremely successful in providing stable, affordable, long-term rental homes for individuals and families. A robust pipeline of cost rental homes is now in place and it’s through the work of AHBs like Oaklee working in collaboration with my department, with our Local Authorities and with our Agencies that we will scale it up even further.”
Sharon Cosgrove, CEO of Oaklee said: “At Oaklee, we are committed to providing secure, high-quality homes that are as affordable as possible for people across Ireland. To date our main activity has been in the delivery and management of social housing. However, now we are delighted to be involved in the delivery of these cost rental homes and to work in partnership with Quintain. We continue to support the Government and local authorities nationwide in the delivery of homes under this model. The Sidings is a prime example of working in partnership and emphasises our dedication to expanding cost rental housing, ensuring long-term security, comfort, and high-quality accommodation in thriving communities.”
Michael Hynes, CEO of Quintain said: “We are excited to partner with Oaklee on the delivery of these new cost rental homes and look forward to welcoming new households to The Crossings. At Quintain, we seek to deliver new communities in addition to new homes and this is a vision we share with Oaklee. The Crossings is a great place to live and is well-served with transport links, community facilities, retail outlets, creches and new schools. We are continuing to add to the neighbourhood, and we are in the process of delivering new apartment developments with mixed tenures that will help to ensure an even more vibrant and diverse new community.”
