Dublin 16: from €;400,000A €300m scheme close to Dundrum Town Centre should be a safe bet for owner-occupiers and investors, writes Property Editor Orna Mulcahy
Apartments in a major new scheme close to Dundrum Town Centre go on the market today in what is likely to be the most interesting launch of the season.
Wyckham Point on Wyckham Way is a joint venture between two of the country's best known housebuilders, O'Malley Construction of Galway, and Jerry Haughey's Dorville Homes.
The two companies jointly acquired the site which was formerly the grounds of Gort Mhuire, a Carmelite house, and are now building 515 high-end apartments that will be surrounded by three acres of private gardens that include a lake.
With Dundrum Town Centre and Luas on its doorstep and the M50 a minute away, it's an exceptionally well located scheme that is likely to appeal to a wide range of property hunters, from affluent first-time buyers who may have grown up in the area, to investors with college-going children and buyers trading down from estates in the neighbourhood. Prices start at €400,000 for one-bedroom apartments, with two-bedroom units priced from €525,000. Family-sized three-bedroom apartments are also available, starting from €620,000.
Only 50 units are being offered for sale at this stage and buyers signing up now will not have to complete until next spring.
The apartments are being sold through joint agents Hooke & MacDonald and Sherry FitzGerald New Homes from a purpose-built marketing suite on site. Marketing suites these days are so sophisticated and expensive to build that developers tend to keep them in the finished scheme. In this case the striking limestone, timber and glass building will be converted into a gym complete with sauna, steam room and relaxation pool overlooking an area of woodland.
For the moment, the marketing suite is home to full scale plans of the development, a model, and a two-bedroom apartment where viewers can see exactly what they will be getting in terms of space and design. With so many apartments there is a good variety of sizes and shapes. One-beds will average 42sq m (450sq ft) and go up to 60sq m (640sq ft) while two-beds will have between 69sq m (740sq ft) and 85sq m (950sq ft). Larger three-bedroom units will have a minimum of 95sq m (1,020sq ft) up to a max of 135sq m (1,450sq ft).
Designed by McCrossan O'Rourke Manning, the scheme has a sleek contemporary look with the emphasis firmly on allowing as much light into the apartments as possible through floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto deep balconies. Wider than average hallways are designed to take proper furniture (rather than scaled down showhouse pieces) while there is excellent storage space in walk-in cupboards and walls of wardrobes. The kitchen and bathrooms are Italian-designed and built, with an excellent finish in tiling and work surfaces and fully integrated kitchen appliances. High-spec features include wiring for surround sound, broadband and a video intercom system.
A full-time concierge desk will make life easier for residents in terms of deliveries and other services.
Joint ventures are fairly unusual in schemes of this kind, but in this case it's a happy alliance between developers with very good track records.
Galway-based O'Malley Construction has built a number of impressive schemes in Dublin including Ballsbridge Wood, Sunbury Gardens in Dartry and Seamount in Stillorgan.
Gerry Haughey's Dorville Homes has completed several high profile apartment developments including De Vesci House, Monkstown, Cranmer Place of Haddington Road and Wyckham Place, an adjoining scheme to Wyckham Point, completed last year.
