FAQ

General

What is the objective of this project?

The Donore Project, on the former St Teresa’s Garden site, will deliver a new affordable housing development in Dublin 8.

The project is being delivered by the Land Development Agency (LDA), in partnership with Dublin City Council (DCC), within the parameters of the Dublin City Development Plan and SDRA 12.

Working closely with the key stakeholders, including the St Teresa’s Gardens Regeneration Board and local community groups,  the LDA and DCC designed a comprehensive plan to create a sustainable and integrated new community in the area. In tandem with semi-private open spaces for residents, this development will deliver public open spaces and recreational facilities designed to complement and connect neighbouring developments.

The Land Development Agency (LDA) is the State’s affordable housing delivery body. It delivers affordable homes on State-owned or acquired land and through homebuilder partnerships as part of its Project Tosaigh initiative.

In 2020, the LDA reached agreement with the Dublin City Council to develop a design and planning application for social and cost rental housing on the St. Teresa’s Gardens site.  Enabling works on the site began in Autumn 2024. Full construction has been underway since February 2025. The construction work is being undertaken by John Paul Construction.

Cost rental homes are designed to assist people who do not qualify for social housing, but who cannot afford to rent at existing market rates. Eligible candidates can secure a new home at rents that are at least 25% below market rates.

The rents charged cover the cost of building, managing and maintaining the homes, which are then ultimately owned by the State.

To qualify for cost rental accommodation candidates must meet a series of eligibility criteria.

Further details on cost rental is available here –  LDA Cost Rental – lda.

The development will deliver 542 new homes. The LDA and DCC have worked together to develop a mix of accommodation types, comprising 233 one-bedroom apartments, 265 two-bedroom apartments and 44 three-bedroom apartments.

The 542 new homes will consist of 389 cost rental and 153 social housing apartments.

It is anticipated that the first homes will be completed in early 2027.

Community / Amenities

What facilities are planned as part of the Donore Project?

Once complete, the Donore Project will include a new creche, community spaces, a café/retail unit, mobility hub and the new home for the Donore Boxing Club. Construction on the multipurpose municipal pitch is to follow the completion of the new homes.

As well as a creche being provided as part of the development, the wider plans for the lands will deliver a variety of open spaces providing children’s play areas in various formats.

The Donore Project Park will sit at the heart of the development, opening new routes between Donore Avenue, South Circular Road and Cork Street. The public realm is designed to encourage active lifestyles, to support resident wellbeing and provide urban greening.

Quality age friendly accommodation will be provided in accordance with relevant national and local policies. These dwellings are currently located to the south east of block DCC 3 overlooking Players Park and closest to the amenities that will be provided in the adjacent Hines developments.

Sustainability / Environment Impact

How are the biodiversity and environmental elements of the site being considered?

The proposed development has been subjected to rigorous environmental assessments, including Appropriate Assessment, to assess any potential impacts on European Sites (Natura 2000), and an Environmental Impact Assessment. These assessments were supported by extensive baseline surveys, including ecology and biodiversity. A pre and post-development biodiversity assessment of the proposal will allow us to measure our progress towards our strategic objective to enhance biodiversity in our developments. This will be supported by the development and implementation of a landscape and biodiversity maintenance and management plan, and we commit to continuing monitoring and reporting on our progress in the years following the development’s completion.

Transport / Car Parking

How much parking will be provided?

A total of 94 car parking spaces and 4 motorcycle spaces will be provided across the project.

Seventy-nine (79) will be included at undercroft level of DCC1, DCC3 and DCC5. Six (6) of these spaces will be designated as Accessible.

Fifteen (15) surface parking spaces will be provided. Eleven (11) spaces will be allocated to visitor parking, three (3) spaces will be allocated for set down/ loading and one (1) will be designated as Accessible.

A network of pedestrian and cycle connections within the development site will integrate with the proposals by other developers in the area. These connections will provide accessibility to the local environment including shops, schools and public transport services.

The project will provide secure bike parking which will encourage residents to use this mode of transport more frequently.

The bicycle parking provision aligns with the Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments 2020 and is provided at a rate of 1 space per bedroom for residential parking:

  • 906 residential bicyle parking spaces will be provided. 5% of these spaces have been oversized to accommodate cargo bikes and other nonstandard bicycles.
  • A further 138 spaces for visitors will be provided across the site.

A mobility hub, within the ground floor of DCC3, will provide residents with live times of local public transport, shared and active travel modes so that they can plan their journey accordingly.

A Traffic Management Plan (TMP) has been agreed between John Paul Construction and DCC. To help limit congestion on the agreed plan requires deliveries to enter the site gates on Donore Avenue via Cork Street or South Circular Road. The construction traffic must then exit towards South Circular Road.

Operational

Who will own and run the open spaces and associated infrastructure when the project is completed?

DCC Housing will own the public open space and associated infrastructure following completion of the works.

Dublin City Council’s differential rents scheme will determine the rent charges applied on the Social Housing units. The Social homes will be allocated in accordance with Dublin City Councils Housing Allocations Scheme (Scheme of Letting Priorities).

The rent values for the LDA cost rental homes will be determined by government policy in relation to affordable housing generally and will also reflect the proposed development’s location in Dublin City.

The principle of cost rental housing is that the rents charged are sufficient to cover the cost of delivery of the homes and the ongoing management costs of the homes.

Following the enacting of the government’s policy in this area, the LDA will work with the Department of Housing to establish the application and qualifying processes for our cost-rental homes.