Afraid not. Nama is buying loans. Good bad and harney. The bank could step in and manage the property if they want to.

Cork's Elysian is a 'Mary Celeste' adrift in the recession

PRESENT TENSE: It’s Ireland’s tallest building, but it’s almost empty – but the Elysian serves a useful function, writes SHANE HEGARTY

IN CORK, ONE building dominates the skyline as much as it dominates taxi drivers’ conversations. It is the Elysian, which at 17 storeys high is the tallest building in Ireland. By night, it is quite a sight, striking forth from the cityscape, bathed in soft light. Except, some lights are missing: the small squares that would otherwise light up the apartments. Most are dark. And a building that was supposed to represent the life of the city stands as lifeless as any abandoned office block.

Its nickname is The Idle Tower, after the pub The Idle Hour on the nearby quays. And if the property bubble could have been cast in concrete and glass, it would be the Elysian. Its name refers to a corner of Hades, where, according to Homer, “life is easiest for men”. Signs cover the ground-floor windows, promising luxury inside, an invite to join the dream. Its website proclaims the developer’s intent to “create spectacular homes where all manner of buyers will be proud to live”. It boasts of standing “like a beacon around the city”. If it is a beacon, however, it is one rooted on a promised land we have left.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2009/1031/1224257742756.html...

Among the first who, with Mr McNamara, will see their loans move to Nama are the Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett-backed Treasury Holdings; Liam Carroll; Seán Mulryan and his company, Ballymore; Dublin housebuilder Gerry Gannon; Castlethorn’s Joe O’Reilly, developer of the Dundrum Shopping Centre; and Michael O’Flynn of O’Flynn Construction in Cork.

Signs cover the ground-floor windows, promising luxury inside, an invite to join the dream. Its website proclaims the developer’s intent to “create spectacular homes where all manner of buyers will be proud to live”. It boasts of standing “like a beacon around the city”. If it is a beacon, however, it is one rooted on a promised land we have left.

Apparently any signs vandalised by graffiti were replaced the following day.

I've a nice view of this building from my desk, i told everyone in the office 12 months ago that it would end up as social & affordable housing and they all laughed at me...

One step closer.

Re: Developers O’Flynn Construction to annihilate Cork? And Wembley???
O Flynn Construction has secured finance for a €57million shceem in Wembley North London.
Front of the Examiner no link as of now

MICHAEL O'Flynn is the chairman and managing director of Cork-based O'Flynn Construction.
Founded in 1978, the company has grown from being a small-scale house builder to being one of the largest development firms outside Dublin.
Such is the extent of the O'Flynn business and its borrowings, the group found itself joining the ranks of NAMA's top 10 most indebted property developers -- €16bn in property and associated loans from these companies were transferred on to the agency's books last April.
Quite apart from that dubious distinction, O'Flynn Construction is perhaps best-known for its development of Ireland's tallest building, the 17-storey (71m/233ft) Elysian Tower in Cork city.
While O'Flynn told his architects he did not want the high-end apartment block to achieve the status of the country's tallest, the failure of other developers to secure planning permission during the boom for taller structures in Dublin inadvertently left the 52-year-old Corkman with the title.

there is more

Is this the Elysian going to NAMA?



From http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0115/1224262373396.html.

The Elysian: a 'beacon of light' that is yet to shine
http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 78367.html

By Ralph Riegel
Thursday December 30 2010

IT was marketed as "a beacon of light overlooking a city striding with confidence into the 21st century". But as the many darkened windows in the 17-storey tower testify, Ireland's tallest structure is currently enjoying a less-than-glittering life.

The Elysian Tower in many ways symbolised the entire spirit of the Celtic Tiger era -- it was a big, no-expense-spared high-rise development set on a three-acre site that owed more to New York and Manhattan than Cork's tight streets. In a city of two-up-and-two-down houses, the Elysian offered €2m triplex penthouses that offered panoramic views for a distance of 10km.

"We believe this project ranks alongside the very finest developments of its type even in London, Paris or anywhere else in the world," developer Michael O'Flynn declared on September 17, 2008, when the Elysian's lavish launch party was staged. As he spoke, he was watched by rugby star Ronan O'Gara as well as ministers Micheal Martin and Batt O'Keeffe. But the launch timing was little short of disastrous. The giant complex and its 211 units came on the market just as the Irish property market was staring into the abyss in the autumn of 2008.

And with the property market still at a standstill, the building is still largely empty more than two years on. Oddly, Mr O'Flynn has refused to slash the prices. He insisted at the time that its prices -- which ranged from €375,000 for a one-bedroom apartment right up to €2m for the penthouses -- reflected the market realities. He emphatically signalled that there would be no price cuts or discounted selling. Today, that remains the case, despite other developers who have slashed prices in a desperate bid to shift units.

At night, a significant number of its windows remain dark -- raising obvious questions over just how many people actually reside in the complex. Mr O'Flynn has handed marketing of the Elysian to agents Sherry Fitzgerald. In March 2009, one UK newspaper estimated that just 29 of the Elysian's 211 residential units had either been purchased outright or reserved by deposit. Trish Stokes of Sherry Fitzgerald told the Irish Independent that the situation has not substantially changed. "But this has to be viewed in the context of an Irish property market that is currently at standstill," she said.

I checked with Sherry Fitz if the flats there were still for sale and seems they are however the price quoted is exactly the same as when they were launched so not exactly a surprise the thing is sitting there idle. Prices for the ones in the tower are from €575,000 up to €675,000 depending on what level you are on along with a tasty service charge of €2.50/sq ft (~€2800/year).