Co Clare: from €520,000 Eighteen apartment suites have been launched in a second phase at Doonbeg Golf Club, a Greg Norman-designed links on the County Clare coast. Selling agent is Property Partners Phillip O'Reilly, Ennis, Co Clare.
The new course was nominated "Best New International Course" in the February 2003 issue of Golf Digest.
Doonbeg's developers, US-based Kiawah Development Partners, have encountered opposition from environmentalists, local farmers and Clare County Council. Most of the disputes - one of which concerned a protected species of snail, another, the right of way to the beach - have now been settled. A dispute between the county council and the developers over alleged coastal erosion is still ongoing.
Phase one sold strongly to North American buyers, who knew the high standard of the company's previous projects in the US. Club membership is included in the purchase price of apartments, with an annual fee of €22,500 in subsequent years.
The new phase, called The Courtyard, comprises 18 apartments with one, two, three and four bedrooms. They are designed by Campbell Conroy Hickey and John Haley of Charlestown, North Carolina, to reflect traditional Irish architecture. Salvaged materials such as old ceiling beams, York stone and antique flooring will be used.
Sizes are spacious, varying from 107 sq m (1,152 sq ft) for the smallest unit to 212 sq m (2,282 sq ft) for a two-storey over garden suite. Prices range from €520,000 to €1.09 million and are exclusive of VAT. Two apartments have been pre-sold to North American buyers.
Owners can avail of a management-run rental arrangement expected to yield a net annual return of €12,000. Annual charges will depend on services required, with the basic fee estimated at around €10,000 per annum.
Apartments will have a living area and kitchen at entrance level, with bedrooms - all en suite - on the first floor. Fittings will include antique ceiling beams, carpets or stone floors, gas fireplaces and custom-designed galley kitchens with good quality appliances and stone counter tops.
Two clubhouses, one exclusively for owner-members, are planned. The diningroom overlooking the 18th green will have views of the Atlantic. A spa with steam rooms, treatment rooms, sauna and gym are also planned.
Building is now under way with completion dates set at mid-2005. Prospective buyers can view plans and place booking deposits at the offices of the agent in Ennis.
