APG Asset Management has entered into a joint venture with Hines to develop and hold new apartments and ancillary retail in Cherrywood. The joint venture will fund both the land and the construction of 1,221 fully serviced “Build-to-Rent” apartments, along with street-level shops and cafes in the new Cherrywood Town Centre. The total development cost for this project equates to circa €450m.
Cherrywood is a government-designated Strategic Development Zone project to build a new town in Dublin comprising over 7,700 new homes, 6 schools, 3 major parks and leisure facilities, supported by an existing light rail system and serving an eventual planned population of 25,000 people.
Marking the announcement Robert-Jan Foortse, Head of European Property Investments of APG said: “Having made comparable long-term residential investments in other markets such as The Netherlands, London, Madrid, and Helsinki, we are continuously looking for attractive real estate investments that help us realize stable and long-term returns for our pension fund clients and their participants. In a severely undersupplied market such as Dublin, we are pleased that this investment addresses this unserved demand in a meaningful way by enabling the development of over 1,200 dwellings. Hines is a best-in-class global property developer and investor. Having them as our partner, we believe will drive Cherrywood to become a high-quality, sustainable place to live, work and play and a new destination in its own right. With a focus on Built-to-Rent housing, we are keen on making Cherrywood a core, long-term holding in our global real estate portfolio and we aim to pursue more residential-led opportunities in the Dublin market going forward.”
