Dublin 16: from €575,000: The Dalriada development beside the Dublin Mountains will suit families moving on to their second homes, writes Kate McMorrow.
Families looking for mid-priced houses within striking distance of the city centre as their second buy will beat a path to Dalriada, a new development in Knocklyon, Dublin 16, featuring four-bedroom houses from €575,000.
This latest Ellier Developments estate is in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains off Ballycullen Road, across from Hunterswood and adjacent to Woodstown, also by Ellier.
Architects Paul Duignan and Associates has included an assortment of house styles and varied roof lines, including a few bungalows to be sold at a later date.
Sherry FitzGerald New Homes is taking bookings from noon today for the first 50 houses at Dalriada and three showhouses will open for viewing.
Finish and landscaping are up to Ellier's usual standard and interiors have a smart contemporary appeal. Bathrooms come with wall-hung toilets and sinks, granite window sills, heated towel rails and expensive glass shower doors. Milano gloss kitchens have Corian worktops and an allowance is given for appliances of choice.
Brushed steel sockets are also standard and opaque glass sliding wardrobes are included. Good use of natural light is another plus and the houses are wired for smart homes technology.
Gas central heating is installed and sittingroom fireplaces come with a flame-effect electric fire. Windows and external doors are dark pine. Prices start at €575,000 for three/four-bedroom three-storey terraced houses of 124.7sq m (1,340sq ft).
One of the four double bedrooms could be used by families as a second sittingroom, hence the flexible bedroom configuration. Folding doors link the sittingroom with kitchen/diner and French doors open to a garden that is big enough to add a small conservatory into. There are 13 of these for sale.
Bright corner houses at €595,000 with 107sq m (1,150sq ft) of space include a wide entrance hall, sittingroom with deep bay and doors opening to a fairly compact back garden. The accessible downstairs toilet is plumbed for a washer/dryer.
The kitchen/diningroom is large, with cream gloss kitchens, Corian worktops and brushed glass folding cupboards. A deep window sill in the main en suite bedroom could be used as a dressing table.
Perhaps the most interesting show-unit is a three-storey terraced house with three en suite bedrooms - ideal for renting a room to help with the mortgage. Priced from €625,000 for 124sq m (1,340sq ft) of accommodation, this house has a huge kitchen/diningroom with two windows, a downstairs toilet, utility and separate sittingroom with doors to a good-sized garden. One of the three bedrooms has separate access to the family bathroom. The top-floor en suite bedroom has room for a small sofa.
There will be 58 houses, 47 apartments and 78 duplexes at Dalriada when the development is complete. The layout is designed to avoid through traffic and each section will have communal planting and coloured statuary.
A new road already in place, Stocking Avenue, links Ballycullen Road with Stocking Lane in Rathfarnham.
Residents will be able to enter Dalriada from either road, but traversing the estate by car will be impossible, cancelling out a potential rat run. Completions in phase one are scheduled for February and March next year. Viewing extends to Sunday at 4pm.
