Dublin City Council is delighted to announce that the first former residents of St. Teresa’s Gardens were this morning given the keys to their new home at Margaret Kennedy Road.
The new development at Margaret Kennedy Road forms part of the on-going St. Teresa’s Gardens Regeneration Project. St Teresa's Gardens is located in the South Inner City of Dublin and the original complex of 12 blocks of flats was built in the early 1950s.
The construction of 54 new housing units at Margaret Kennedy Road (which is right beside St Teresa's Gardens on Donore Avenue) is the first stage in a major redevelopment of public lands in the St Teresa's Gardens area. Further stages in this redevelopment process will include the establishment of a substantial municipal sports facility, public parks, public playgrounds, cafes and crèches for the South Inner City (with a pitch the same size as Croke Park) and the construction of approximately 750 new social and cost rental housing units on public lands.
The development at Margaret Kennedy Road is a very welcome start in this developmental journey. It comprises of a mixture of houses and apartments - 38 houses (2 bedroom and 3 bedroom) and 16 apartments (1 bedroom and 2 bedroom). A significant proportion of these housing units will be allocated to existing residents of St Teresa's Gardens. When the existing residents have all moved across to their new homes the 2 remaining blocks of flats in St Teresa's Gardens will be demolished in order to make way for the new Municipal Sports Facility. The City Architects Division designed the 54 new dwellings in house and led their consultant design team, working closely and collaboratively with the contractor Purcell Construction Limited to deliver the project on site.
Lord Mayor, Hazel Chu presented Kris Taylor with the keys to her new house in the presence of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD. Kris Taylor has been a long-time resident of St Teresa’s Gardens and has served on the Regeneration Board for the last 12 years.
The Lord Mayor, Councillor Hazel Chu said “I know Kris has been waiting a long time for this so I’m thrilled for her that today has finally come. Sometimes when you want something so much you begin to wonder if it will ever happen, but if you keep believing eventually you get days like today. I want to wish Kris all the very best in her new home. I hope she enjoys it and I hope everyone is excited to see that Dublin City Council is making progress in its plan to deliver 750 new homes for people in this area.”
Kris Taylor said: 'I am absolutely delighted that the time has now come for us to move into our new homes. I have lived in St Teresa's Gardens for the last 35 years. I have met many wonderful people in the flats over the years and I have lots of happy memories of living in St Teresa's Gardens. As well as bring a resident of the area I have also been a member of the Regeneration Board for the last 15 years. Whilst the Regeneration Programme has sometimes been both frustrating and slow (as previous plans have had to be shelved due to global recessions and other reasons) I am so pleased that we have now arrived at the stage when we are moving into our new homes at Margaret Kennedy Road'.
Kris continued 'I am very hopeful for the future of our community. Whilst there will be a tinge of sadness about leaving St Teresa's Gardens it is also true to say that there will always be a bit of St Teresa's Gardens in all of us and we look forward to taking the community spirit which existed in the flats for 70 years across to Margaret Kennedy Road. Together with the other residents and families who will be joining us to live at Margaret Kennedy Road we should be able to create a really strong, caring and vibrant community. Many thanks to all of the people and organisations who have helped us over the last 20 years'.
Commenting Minister O’Brien said “The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is delighted to be working in partnership with Dublin City Council and the St. Teresa’s Gardens Regeneration Board on the regeneration of St. Theresa’s Gardens. This project, the latest phase of the transformation of this area, has seen significant investment by the Department, and I am delighted to be here today to see Kris and indeed other people from the local community moving into their new homes. It is clear to see that these high-quality homes will continue to foster the strong sense of community for generations to come. I am committed to ensuring that this regeneration continues with the construction of many more high-quality homes in this community”
Brendan Kenny, Deputy Chief Executive of Dublin City Council said “Building on its fine legacy of regeneration and the development of public housing, the City Council now has the largest social housing pipeline in decades. With direct grant support from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, we are continually ramping up our impressive and ambitious city-wide regeneration programme. The aim of this programme is to replace ageing flat complexes with more and better quality homes. The Minister is a very strong advocate for this programme and I believe we are truly on the cusp of a new era of regeneration".
Stephen Rourke, Chairperson of St Teresa's Gardens Regeneration Board also contributed his views and comments. Stephen said: 'St Teresa's Gardens Regeneration Board is a multi-agency Board comprised of 20 members (local residents, statutory agencies, elected Councillors, community sector organisations). I have been Chairperson of the Regeneration Board for the last 4 years and on behalf of the Board I would like to express our congratulations to the people moving into their new homes over the next couple of months. We know it has been a long journey for residents over a 20 year period and it is good that we have now arrived at the stage where keys to new homes are being handed over to residents'
Stephen continued 'The construction of these fine houses and apartments represents the first phase of the physical regeneration of St Teresa's Gardens and surrounding areas. There is enormous potential for future development on the 25 acre Regeneration site and many opportunities to build a substantial number of new housing units (of which up to 900 would be social and affordable - 750 on public lands, 150 on private lands). There will also be the new Municipal Sports Facility, new parks, new playgrounds, new cycleways, new community and creative facilities. I believe that the future looks very bright for this historic part of the South Inner City. It is great that it is the residents from St Teresa's Gardens who will be leading the charge as they are now the residents moving into the first housing development to be constructed on the Regeneration site'
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