Dutch pension fund APG is backing Hines to build the €450M first phase of what will be a new town on the edge of Dublin.

The joint venture will fund the land and the construction of 1,221 fully serviced build-to-rent apartments as well as street-level shops and cafés in the new Cherrywood Town Centre.

It is the largest investment by APG in Ireland to date. APG will own the apartments when they are completed. Subject to planning permission, construction will commence in mid-2018, with the first apartment blocks expected to be completed by mid-2020.

“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," APG Head of European Property Investments Robert-Jan Foortse said.

"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.”

APG has made similar large-scale investments in rented residential in London, Madrid, the Netherlands and Helsinki.

Cherrywood is a government-designated Strategic Development Zone project to build a new town in Dublin comprising more than 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.