Demolition of apartments to cost Nama €150,000, Noonan confirms - The Irish Times - Fri, Jul 06, 2012

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has confirmed the removal of an apartment block in Longford is set to cost the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) €150,000.

Last week, Nama announced its intention to demolish an apartment block containing 12 apartments at the Gleann Riada estate in Longford town. Providing details of the background to the demolition in response to a parliamentary question by Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty, Mr Noonan said the block “had been subject to continuous vandalism and antisocial behaviour, including the removal of all fixtures and fittings, and had become a significant source of concern for neighbouring residents”.

Nama assumed loans on the property in December 2010 and Mr Noonan said the apartment block was poorly constructed, located on a flood plain and in the middle of an industrial estate.

The Minister for Finance said: “As a result of its condition and location, Nama advises that the investment required to bring the property to a habitable state and to the point that it could be sold, in the unlikely event that a willing buyer exists, would be such as to make the investment uneconomical and that it is questionable whether structurally such works could in fact be undertaken.”

Sinn Féin’s Dessie Ellis said the €150,000 costs were “unavoidable, but it is inevitable that there will be more demolitions by Nama across the country”.

via irishtimes.com