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Diaspora now the ‘buyaspora’?

By Noreen Bowden | May 21, 2007

“The Irish diaspora has become the Irish buyaspora”,  Alastair Adair, a professor of real estate at the University of Ulster, has told the Chicago Tribune. Professor Adair was commenting on the career of Garrett Kelleher, the returned emigrant who is building North America’s tallest skyscraper.

Professor Adair also noted that last year, Irish real estate investors poured $18 billion into property deals, mainly in Europe and the US East Coast.

He added, “It’s a new era in which Irish developers are seeking a global profile by identifying opportunities  to own iconic buildings. ”

As for Mr Kelleher, the 45-year-old real estate developer began his construction career in London as a labourer, before moving to New York and then Chicago; he returned home in 1995 with a “substantial amount” of money. He started his Dublin company, Shelbourne Development Ltd, that year, and is now worth about $1 billion.

He is currently building the 150-story Spire in Chicago, a $1.5-billion project. He expects half the buyers to be foreign.

Read the full article on the Chicago Tribune website.

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