Imaginative design and top quality interior finish will be the chief selling points at The Ramparts, a new apartment development showing for the first time today at Loughlinstown, Co Dublin.
A total of 40 one and two-bedroom apartments and three-bed penthouses will be on sale from today. Prices range from £149,950 (#190,400) for the smallest one-bed units to £400,000plus (#507,900) for 1,340 sq ft duplex penthouses with huge terraces.
More than half of the 100 apartments at The Ramparts were sold off plans when released for sale last summer by selling agents Hooke & MacDonald. Of the remaining 40, there are six one-bedroom units, 24 two-bedroom apartments and ten two-bedroom penthouses. Prices range from £149,950 (#190,400) to £165,000 (#209,510) for one-bedroom apartments measuring between 560 and 625 sq ft.
Two-bedroom units of 830 sq ft to 900 sq ft cost from £195,000 (#247,600) to £235,000 (#298,390). The penthouses of 1,340 sq ft are priced from £380,000 (#482,500) to £400,000 (#507,900). Sun terraces range from 400 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft depending on the size and location of the apartment.
The Ramparts development is designed in an arc which focuses on a circular landscaped entrance forecourt. Directly opposite the tall glass entrance is a large circular water feature with a fountain, surrounded by low seating. Mature trees have been transplanted to the site.
The exterior of the four/ five-storey block is of brick, Portland stone and glass, with a glass atrium over the main entrance lobby. All the windows are aluminium to the outside, with pine frame and finish internally. The sloping site allows underground car-parking with lift access to all floors.
Features include solid cherrywood internal doors, extra-large balconies to most apartments and higher than average ceiling heights, giving an impression of space. The location of the Ramparts scheme, just off the N11 and close to a proposed junction of the South Eastern Motorway, is another great plus. The site derives its name from a fortress built many centuries ago and more recently, a market garden traded here.
A linear park is under construction behind the apartments, running along the banks of the Loughlinstown River and there are marvellous views of the Dublin mountains and the ruins of Tully church.
Layouts are generally similar, although rear-facing units, angled to fit the larger curve, have much longer terraces. These units are also south-west facing and will probably sell quickly. The curved shape of the building means that, with several units on each floor, there are no long straight corridors and a greater impression of privacy.
A typical two-bedroom apartment has compact double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes and a generous en suite shower room off the main bedroom.
There is a good-sized bathroom and airing cupboard and a useful cupboard off the hall.
The sittingroom/dining room is a good size and very bright, because of wall-to-wall windows at the terrace end. There is a French-style stone fireplace and an up-to-the-minute kitchen off the dining end. As in the bathrooms, wall tiling is standard and there is a good amount of worktop space.
Very tall 14 ft high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows in the penthouses create an open warehouse effect.
Some of these are on two floors, with bedrooms on the lower level and sitting/ diningroom, kitchen and study/bedroom on the top floor. The grounds are already taking shape, as viewers to the show apartments this weekend will see. Underground parking is free to residents and there is additional guest parking a short distance from the entrance. The entire scheme is almost completed and will be ready for occupation by April.
