Plans for a €160 million regeneration of one of Dublin's most deprived areas are close to agreement.
Under the plans, 575 housing units will be built at St Michael's Estate in Inchicore, including 150 local authority housing units, 70 units of affordable housing and 355 private dwellings.
The proposed scheme represents a compromise after two earlier plans foundered because of cost problems and local opposition. Last September, Dublin City Council voted to reject their own officials' plans for the estate, which has suffered serious social and drug problems since it was built over 30 years ago.
Council management wanted to built 850 units of accommodation on a slightly smaller site in a public-private partnership with developers.
A previous plan which had been developed in consultation with local residents was dropped after the council said the Department of the Environment could not provide funding. That plan envisaged just 340 housing units, most of them local authority.
Most of the units provided in the new plan will be apartments, with just 25-30 houses. However, development will be restricted to five storeys, compared to seven storeys under the previous PPP proposal.
The council's project manager, Mr Gerry Folan, conceded that the new plan would not be exploiting the full potential of the site, which is near to the city centre and adjacent to a Luas line.
The proposed density was reasonable, given the history of recent regeneration attempts and need to deliver a quality project that met local needs.
According to Ms Rita Fagan of the local Family Resource Centre, the provision of 150 local authority housing units will provide accommodation for those remaining in the estate as well as taking people off the council's waiting list.
The plan was drawn up in negotiations between council officials and the St Michael's Estate task force. It covers an area of 11 acres, not including land fronting on to Emmet Road which is not owned by the council. While the proposal will have to go through the planning process, building on the first units could start as early as the end of the year, Mr Folan said.
