Over 1,200 cost rental homes have the potential to be delivered in Dublin after the Land Development Agency (LDA) announced the purchase of a site on Naas Road.

The 3.79-hectare Royal Liver site is located next to the Red Luas line and close to the Grand Canal at the junction of Naas Road and Kylemore Road. There is existing planning permission for housing development on the land, with an initial first phase delivering at least 465 new homes.

The purchase follows an independent valuation process and is part of the LDA's private land acquisition initiative.

John Coleman, Chief Executive of the Land Development Agency, said: "This is another major development for the LDA as we continue to deliver the right type of housing in the right place. This site is superbly located in a part of Dublin that can accommodate and benefit from more housing, new services, amenities and ultimately new communities.

"We are excited to have closed this deal at a price that will allow us to deliver a high number of well-served and much-needed cost rental apartments and we now look forward to getting construction underway."

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The site is located at the heart of the planned City Edge redevelopment and near to two other affordable, cost rental and social developments being delivered by the LDA in partnership with Dublin City Council at Bluebell and Cherry Orchard Point.

The City Edge area has been identified as having the potential for regeneration with a vision to develop a well-connected and dynamic new urban quarter.

It seeks to provide more housing, community facilities and amenities such as parks, greenways and sports pitches alongside existing and new commercial and industrial premises.

"We are acutely aware of the regeneration plans for the City Edge quarter of Dublin and we are working closely with Dublin City Council to help kick start and provide a stimulus for new housing in the area," said Mr Coleman.

"There is a compelling case for the development of new apartments alongside existing rail and Luas services and the LDA is playing a significant role in delivering such projects. Working with Dublin City Council, we are already active in this area, with our joint plans for Bluebell Waterways and Cherry Orchard Point.

"Our private land acquisition initiative has proved to be an effective way of adding to the LDA's land bank and our housing delivery pipeline. It is expected that further purchases will be completed if prices are right and we are continuing to examine and evaluate expressions of interest as we receive them."

In 2023, the Agency announced its intention to buy well-located development sites in key cities with existing services, the potential for high numbers of homes and ideally with existing planning permission.

It sought and subsequently received expressions of interest from landowners, which it has been actively assessing and evaluating.

In December 2023, the Agency made its first purchase as part of the initiative when it paid €44 million for land in Clongriffin in north Dublin with existing planning permission for over 1,800 homes and the potential to deliver a total of over 2,300 affordable and social homes.