Over the course of the late 90s and early 2000s two groups of people in Ballymun formed housing co-operatives and built their own housing communities with the assistance of DCC.  Around this time, Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL), who have a commitment to develop a certain proportion of sustainable environmental housing in Ballymun, approached Jo Faulkner of Global Action Project Ballymun with the idea of establishing an environmental housing co-operative.  At the end of 2001 an inaugural meeting was held and persons from Ballymun interested in the idea formed the Emerald housing co-operative group and took part in regular meetings to discuss how to go about the project.

In 2002 and 2003, interested members made a financial commitment to the project and set about hiring an architect to look after the project.  Solearth ecological architects, were chosen to design the project.  Solearth undertakes to regenerate the environment and its natural processes whilst providing a modern human habitat.  Cluid Housing Association joined the project with a view to purchasing a proportion of the project’s housing units in order to make them available for rent to persons from the community.  Cluid’s mission is to design, build and manage high quality affordable housing and facilitate the creation of homes and sustainable communities for those in housing need.  BRL allocated a section of land in the Sillogue area of Ballymun for the project.  The project design includes 20 apartments and 17 houses, including two special needs houses; a communal green area and communal buildings; recycling facilities; and a permanent display room to promote sustainable living.  Emerald members will be allocated 13 housing units in the development.  All of the apartments and four houses in the project, including the special needs housing, will be purchased and managed by Cluid.

In 2004 planning permission was received for the project and Emerald became an industrial and provident society. In October 2005 the Emerald project won an award at the Sustainable Energy Awards for excellence in design/specification of mechanical and electrical building services.