Old U2 Studio In Windmill Lane Gets Funding For Development

Hibernia REIT, an Irish investment property gets approval from Deutsche Bank for a €46.7m (£34m) loan to be used in the development of the iconic Windmill Lane site, where U2's recording studio used to be, Belfast Telegraph reports.

The company will be partnering with Starwood Capital, an affiliate American investment firm, in developing the project.

By the time it of its prospected finish in 2017, the Dublin site will house over 120,000 square feet of offices, 7,000 square feet of retail spaces and 15 residential units.

The arrangement with Deutsche can be extended for a year after the agreed 3-year term. It is secured on the Windmill Lane property.

According to Hibernia, the facility will be utilized to support the development of the one acre site.

Just after beginning to trade before Christmas, Hibernia REIT closed the deal with Starwood on the acquisition of Windmill Lane in June 2014 for €7.5m (£5.5m).

The deal stipulates that Starwood has the option to buy back in as a 50:50 joint venture at purchase price, a return of 7%, and payment of the costs incurred by Hibernia for the development.

To be called "Windmill Lane Partnership", Starwood offers to pay €4.9m (£3.6m) as its share for the joint venture. When this pushes through, there will be a transfer of the ownership of the site, while there will be equal sharing of all future income and expenditure.

The site used to be the location of  U2's studio at Windmill Lane before being taken over by the Docklands Development Authority a decade ago.

A planned 'U2 Tower' on Britain Quay where the band was set to transfer was part of that deal, but the construction of the tower has not been realized.

Top international music acts who recorded tracks going back to the 1970's used to perform in the Windmill Lane Studios which is located in Dublin's south inner city.