The Housing Infrastructure Services Company, (HISCo), a commercial joint venture between the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and Cork County Council to build supporting infrastructure for housing, has announced details of a substantial investment in County Louth as it prepares to roll out its offering across Ireland.
HISCo provides an innovative solution to the provision of both on-site and off-site infrastructure that is hindering the delivery of residential development throughout Ireland. The unique aspect of HISCo’s Model is that the fee is calculated on a per unit basis and is only payable as each unit is sold or first leased.
The company is to facilitate the delivery of 1,300 new homes in Drogheda, Co Louth, by building the first phase of a new access road which will eventually link the M1 to Drogheda Port on land owned by Louth County Council.
The new 2-kilometre road will provide key supporting infrastructure that will make it viable to deliver the homes, with subsequent phases of the road having the potential to deliver a total of more than 3,500 new homes. As with all ISIF projects, the project will be delivered on commercial terms. HISCo has been engaged by two housebuilding firms, Castlethorn and Ballymakenny Developments Ltd, to complete the road on their behalf.
As part of the project HISCo will also construct a Water Main for Irish Water and future-proof power supply infrastructure for ESB Networks and other utility companies. HISCo has engaged Clonmel Enterprises to construct the required infrastructure.
The road will consist of a new section of road from the Rosehall Roundabout to the proposed Ballymakenny Road Roundabout, together with the realignment of Twenties Lane and remaining upgrades to the Ballymakenny Road.
Niall Morrissey, CEO of HISCo, said:
“This is an exciting project that will ultimately pave the way for 1,300 new homes in Drogheda.
"It builds on our successful early projects and augurs well for our plans to deliver similar supporting infrastructure for new homes across Ireland.
"Cork County Council deserves enormous credit for starting the conversation with ISIF regarding the challenge that critical infrastructure poses for the delivery of residential development. ISIF deserves credit for recognising that this was a challenge that they could do something about.
"The project would also not be possible without the support of Louth County Council, the housebuilding firms, the HISCo Board and the professional advisors that have brought us this far.
"We look forward to delivering this key piece of infrastructure that will make Drogheda a better place to live, work and do business.”
Speaking today, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said, “This new road, which will be a crucial piece of infrastructure to support the delivery of up to 5,000 new homes in the area, has been made possible through an innovative collaboration between developers, the Housing Infrastructure Services Company (HISCo) and Louth County Council.
"The investment by the ISIF, managed and controlled by the NTMA, in the HISCo joint venture with Cork County Council to build supporting infrastructure for housing, is helping to deliver the project. It is an example of the valuable work that ISIF is doing to support regional infrastructure including across port, airport and digital infrastructure. The investment follows on from a similar role ISIF played in financing the significant enabling infrastructure required for the Cherrywood SDZ in Dublin.
"Regionally, ISIF is also focused on strategic investments which can enable Ireland’s regional cities to drive balanced economic development and growth. ISIF’s €500m regional cities fund was launched in 2022 and this fund’s largest investment to date, the €80m Opera project in the heart of Limerick city, was just recently announced.
"Investments such as these are important elements of ISIF’s overall Impact Strategy which focuses on long-term transformational investments addressing key strategic challenges facing the country including climate action, housing and enabling infrastructure”