Hines, the international real estate firm has entered into a joint venture with the Dutch pension investor APG Asset Management (APG) to develop and hold the “Build-to-Rent” multifamily residential element and ancillary retail at Cherrywood in Dublin.
In a significant development for the Cherrywood project, Hines will co-invest alongside APG into the joint venture which 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 is approximately €450 million.
Cherrywood is a government-designated Strategic Development Zone project to build a new town in the borough of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown comprising over 7,700 new homes, six schools, three major parks and leisure facilities, supported by an existing light rail system and serving an eventual planned population of 25,000 people. Today’s announcement represents a milestone for the Town Centre aspect of the project which will be the first purpose-designed “Build-to-Rent” project in Ireland.
Welcoming the development, Brian Moran, Senior Managing Director with Hines’ Dublin office said, “This deal is a major endorsement for Cherrywood. We are delighted to join again with such a highly regarded international investment partner in launching the first purpose-designed Build-to-Rent joint venture in Ireland. Cherrywood Town Centre is tailor made for this model and when complete will set a new standard in modern urban living for the residents of this new town in South Dublin.”
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.”
Hines Development Director Gary Corrigan said, "We are delighted to be working with an established international investor of the calibre of APG on what is a very substantial project and which will deliver over 1,200 apartments into the Dublin rental market in the coming years. This is a new partnership framework for Hines in Ireland and it bodes very well for other projects to be acquired and developed as we pursue the wider strategy to build out our JV into a substantial private rental platform over the coming years."
Lars Huber, CEO of Hines Europe, added, “We are excited to team up with a first-class institutional investor of the calibre of APG for the Cherrywood development project. This strategy for Ireland is very much in line with the European-wide expansion of our residential platform for 2018 and beyond.”
While involved in a number of property projects in Ireland, today’s joint venture announcement with Hines is the largest investment by APG into the Irish market to date.
Subject to planning permission, construction of Cherrywood Town Centre will commence in mid-2018, with the first apartment blocks expected to be completed by mid-2020.
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Cherrywood Town Centre - Computer Generated Graphics: Cherrywood Town Centre Imagery
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 201 cities in 21 countries. Hines has approximately $100 billion of assets under management, including $54.5 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $45.5 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 113 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,262 properties, totalling over 414 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 529 properties, representing over 213 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include a presence in 51 cities in 11 countries and Hines Europe currently has €14.0 billion of assets under management in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Visit www.hines.com for more information about the firm and www.hinessustainability.com to learn more about the sustainability programme and objectives at Hines.
About APG Group NV
As a financial services provider, APG Group currently offers its clients executive consultancy, asset management, pension administration, pension communication, and employer services. The company also offers supplementary income solutions for individuals on the pension market. APG Group performs these services on behalf of (pension) funds and employers in the sectors of education, government, construction, cleaning and window cleaning, housing associations, energy and utility companies, sheltered employment organizations, and medical specialists. APG Group manages approximately €469 billion (November 2017) in pension assets for the pension funds in these sectors. The company also administers defined contribution schemes for premium pension institutions (PPIs), (company) pension funds, and insurance companies. APG Group works for approximately 40,000 employers, administering pensions for one in five families in the Netherlands (about 4.5 million participants). APG Group has offices in Heerlen, Amsterdam, Brussels, New York, and Hong Kong.
