The first 20 apartments in a scheme off Clonliffe Road, in Dublin 3, will appeal to buyers who want to live within walking distance of the city centre. Prices at Clonliffe Square start at £142,000 for 460 sq ft one-bedroom apartments and from £174,950 for 700 sq ft two-bed units.
The four-storey and five-storey building will have 42 apartments when it is fully occupied. Purchasers in the first phase will be able to move in by the end of August. Six one-bedroom and 14 two-bedroom apartments are being released in this initial launch.
Being near Croke Park, and about a 15-minute walk from O'Connell Street, location is one of Clonliffe Square's key selling points, according to agent Hooke & McDonald, which will take bookings at the show apartments from today.
On the site of a former printing works by a weir on the River Tolka, the apartment block is at the end of a cul-de-sac, looking across the river to a former distillery. There is a stand of tall poplars to the rear and, beyond this, Belvedere sports grounds and Holy Cross College.
The exterior is three-quarters brick, with timber-decked steel balconies splayed outwards as an architectural feature. Apartment entrance doors are of solid beech, fittings are in fashionable chrome and sittingroom ceilings have coving and a decorative centrepiece.
The entrance foyer is a full-height atrium with chrome and glass bannisters and leaded-glass panels in the solid timber main doors. A lift which services all the apartments is flanked by Grecian-style pillars. A specially-commissioned stone sculpture hangs on the wall opposite the lift doors.
The two-bedroom apartments average 700 sq ft, with corner and penthouse units slightly larger. A typical mid-block two-bed apartment costing from £174,950 has a bathroom, hot-press and a storage cupboard off the entrance lobby. Naturalcoloured marble floor and wall-tiling in the bathroom is standard. The bedrooms, one double and the other single, both have fitted wardrobes and deep window-sills.
The sittingroom is good-sized, with a classic beech and slate fireplace, an integral diningroom and the kitchen directly off. The large steel balcony is timber-decked and has room for a couple of sun loungers. The doors to the balcony open completely back for summer entertaining. Kitchens are apartment-sized and fitted with simple white-panelled units, polished-stone floors and cream tiles.
A small number of corner apartments have larger sittingrooms with windows in two walls letting in plenty of light. Some of these overlook the picturesque weir and the river. Top-floor penthouse apartments at the upper end of the price scale (£191,950 for the two-bedroom and £151,950 for the onebed units) have sloping ceilings and fine views over the city.
Most of the one-bedroom units, averaging 460 sq ft, are priced from £142,000. While considerably smaller, these are simply styled to create an impression of more space. Sittingrooms have a classic beech fireplace and good balcony, also timber-decked and with French doors.
A dining area is positioned near the kitchen. The kitchens have white-panelled units, beech-type work-tops and stone floor tiles. The double bedroom has fitted wardrobes.
The surrounding grounds are nicely landscaped. Existing mature poplar trees have been added to and lawns are divided by a curved cobblelock pathway winding around the block. To the right beyond a railed fence is the river. Left of the entrance gate and stretching round to the rear is a car-park with one parking space for each apartment.
A security intercom is provided with each apartment and the entrance gates are electronically-controlled. Annual management fees work out at £595 for one-bedroom, and £695, for two-bedroom units.
