Work has begun on the regeneration of the O'Devaney Gardens site in Dublin's North inner city with the construction of 56 social housing units.
A sod turning ceremony was held by Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Pascal Donohoe and Lord Mayor Nial Ring.
O'Devaney Gardens, which was first built in 1954 was one of the public private partnership collapses in 2008 during the economic downturn.
It is now the first of the three large scale developments to deliver up to 1,700 units of mixed housing types the others being the Oscar Traynor site in Coolock and St Michaels Estate in Inchicore.
They are being developed under a plan called the Land Initiative, where developers will be able to build on council land according to an agreed masterplan and a mix of 50% private and 30% social and 20% affordable housing.
At the ceremony today Mr Murphy said the €100 million development of O'Devaney Gardens would provide a total of 600 homes.
He pointed out that the site is near the Phoenix Park and Heuston Station and that the potential exists for connections with neighbouring areas like Stoneybatter and Grangegorman.
He said: "Regeneration goes beyond mere bricks and mortar and in order to be successful and sustainable in the long term, requires the re-building of a community and a strengthening of community bonds".
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