A further 20 apartments are being released off plans by Hooke & MacDonald this week at South Studios, a contemporary development of one and two-bedroom apartments in a top class location on Tates Avenue in South Belfast.
The scheme includes five one-bedroom units priced from £84,950 sterling to £94,950, with sizes from 450 sq ft up to 650 sq ft. Thirteen two-bedroom apartments averaging around 742 sq ft are available from £97,950. There are also two bright two-bedroom penthouses for sale in this phase, costing £126,950 for a 740 sq ft unit and £129,950 for an 825 sq ft apartment. Most of the homes will be ready for occupation between January and March 2002 and the entire scheme of 68 apartments should be in occupation by late next spring. The developer is Elmgold Limited.
The apartments are divided between two four-storey brick, glass and steel blocks. Forty apartments in the first phase were bought mainly by local people because of the scheme's proximity to Queen's University and Belfast City Hospital. It is an easy walk into the city centre.
For investors from the south of Ireland, rental potential is good. One-bedroom units achieve monthly rents of £450 and two-bedroom apartments make at least £550. Four lifts will service the 68 apartments. The main entrance is via a glass foyer off Tates Avenue. The development will have gas fired central heating, en suites with main bedrooms in the two-bed units and good quality kitchens with fridge freezer, washer/dryer, oven, hob and extractor fan included in the sale.
Balconies are only suitable for flower tubs, but a landscaped courtyard is planned in the centre of the scheme. One parking space is to be provided with each apartment and there will be additional visitor car-parking.
The growing prosperity of Belfast is evident everywhere in this fashionable part of the city. There are numerous restaurants and trendy pubs and an endless choice of cafes. Landmarks along the Laganside such as the Waterfront Hall, the new Hilton Hotel and Clarendon Dock have moved the axis of the city closer to the river and the university area, where there is a high demand for letting. Plans can be seen at Hooke & MacDonald's offices in Clarence Street, Belfast and Merrion Square Dublin on weekdays between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.
