Rod Stewart has just bought a home in Dublin 4, believed to be an apartment in Lansdowne Place, where sales this year ranged from €900,000 to €5.675 million, according to the Residential Property Price Register.
But even the 76-year-old rock star, who will play 3Arena in Dublin next year, found finding a home in the city a challenge. He gave up on a plan to buy a house in Dublin in favour of a very swish apartment. His rationale?
“If I get out on my balcony I’m going to see [rugby and football] crowds on a Saturday afternoon. The oceans and beaches, it’s gorgeous,” he told the Daily Telegraph about his new apartment, which is close to the Aviva Stadium, on Lansdowne Road.
Lansdowne Place is the only scheme in the area offering all of these features – and industry sources have confirmed that the singer has opted for a swish new-build in the Dublin 4 development.
It's a big shot in the arm for the extremely well-located Chartered Land scheme, which extends to almost 7ac on the sites of the former Jurys and Berkley Court hotels (the latter of which was a favourite with visiting headline acts playing in Dublin). The new development's facilities include a cinema and a residents' dining room.
Eden One, the upmarket day spa, gym and private members' club close to Lansdowne Place, is likely to appeal to Stewart. After a Himalayan-salt sauna there he could take a snow shower, in which flakes would flutter down to cool him off. What might his neighbours make of meeting the singer in just a towel? It could be worth eavesdropping on some of the long-lunchers at Roly's Bistro nearby, to hear what they had to say about it.
As a selling strategy, the lure of a premier seat at every game at the Aviva Stadium should not be underestimated, according to Helen Kilmartin of Minima, an interiors specialist who recently completed a Lansdowne Place show unit, at 18 The Barrington, fitting it out with Italian designer names. "I have several clients from the country who like rugby, and bought there because it gives them a five-star feeling when they come to Dublin," she says.
The next big question is who will get the contract to design and fit out Stewart's new home. The scheme's London-based launch designer, Goddard Littlefair, has plenty of experience in this realm, but Kilmartin believes he should shop local and hire Róisín Lafferty of Kingston Lafferty Design, who has several clients in the buildings already. "She always designs her spaces to suit the person living there."
For Lansdowne Place’s joint selling agents, SherryFitzGerald and Savills, Christmas has come early. The lustre of rock-star pulling power, coupled with tech scions and captains of industry, will make the A-rated homes that little bit more appealing to would-be buyers. Nobody wants to talk about what the rock star paid for his new D4 pad, but the recent listing of €5.675 million on the property-price register has everyone talking. Apartments, duplexes and penthouses at Lansdowne Place are on the market with prices starting at €825,000.
As well as having matches on the doorstep, residents can choose from a host of nearby restaurants, bars, shops and outdoor amenities, including Herbert Park, the River Dodder and Sandymount Strand.
