Hammerson and Allianz Real Estate have started construction on The Ironworks, their first Irish residential-led scheme.

Hammerson is developing The Ironworks on behalf of Dundrum Retail Limited Partnership, a 50-50 Allianz and Hammerson joint venture that owns and operates Dundrum Town Centre.

Located on the Sandyford Road entrance to the Dundrum Estate and spread across 27 acres, it forms part of the proposed redevelopment of the old Dundrum Shopping Centre.

Due to be completed by 2025, the scheme comprises 122 BTR apartments, coworking space, a residents’ lounge, a gym, a terrace and a new coffee shop.

The scheme has been designed to a BREEAM Excellent rating as part of Hammerson’s net-zero carbon pledge, and the partnership said that the homes will optimise light and heat recovery ventilation while including solar photovoltaics and a green roof.

The development, being built by Glenbeigh Construction, will integrate new social housing within the plans.

“The residential sector is one of the most prominent, institutional, stable asset classes benefitting from long-term trends which have created an urgent demand for housing in most cities around the world," Allianz Real Estate Head of Investments and Strategic Development for North and Central Europe Nicole Pötsch said in a statement. "We see an active role for institutional investors who are positioned to finance the large developments that are needed."

Hammerson added that The Ironworks is part of its strategy to focus on core city centre sites and mixed asset uses, with more than 100 acres of pre-development and strategic land holdings in and around urban locations.

These include Dublin Central; Bishopsgate Goodsyard, Shoreditch; and Martineau Galleries, Birmingham.