IN BALLYMUN:With all but one of its infamous tower blocks demolished, regeneration is changing the face of Ballymun, says Paul O'Doherty, but it's taking time
THERE ARE not many townlands in Europe where, barring a civil war, the old landscape has been torn up by committee and replaced by a regeneration plan with a whole new kaleidoscope of residential, recreational and commercial adventures. Such is the story of the new Ballymun.
Now, with only one of the tall tower blocks still standing (the Plunkett Tower), along with some of the smaller original council blocks, completions of new housing developments are well underway. Due for - or in the process of - demolition are the blocks on Shangan Avenue, Coultry Road, Silogue Avenue and Balcurris.
Since regeneration started, 2,297 housing units out of 4,751 have been completed; 945 are on site; 790 at the tendering, pre-construction stage; and 710 are in planning and development.
A new shopping centre is promised, along with a 10-screen cinema, two pubs and more apartments.
And, with the new town centre still a priority, negotiations continue to take place between Dublin City Council, Ballymun Regeneration and Treasury Holdings to ensure that the new layout offers easy access to the new town centre plaza and proposed Metro station.
Not too far into the future, with its access to the M50, a Metro connection to the city and airport, and IKEA due to open, just as soon as the M50 is upgraded. Ballymun's star will surely rise far higher than the disaster of the towers. One wonders how many investors will ask themselves why they didn't get involved sooner.
How's the market?
According to Martin Shortt, the auctioneer and valuer whose offices you pass on the way to the airport, "business is quite good, and as good as it is anywhere else at the minute. We have plenty of people selling their houses because they'd be moving out to the Dublin commuter belt. They're mostly family houses, well-priced, and ideal starter homes for anyone wanting to get on the property ladder."
He insists it's a good area, with reasonable prices - " between €300,000 and €320,000 for a three-bedroom house - a good three-bedroom house, mind you."
For the record, new one-bed apartments at the recently completed College View development near the swimming pool in the village, or at the slightly older Plaza, are both available at €285,000.
In the same developments, two-bed varieties are costing €320,000 and €345,000 respectively. Into the older stock, a first-floor apartment with balcony on Balbutcher Lane with shops underneath is looking for €260,000 while a ground-floor apartment at Santry Cross, close to the M50 and IKEA when it comes, might seem very good value in the future at €299,000.
The three-bed division starts around €275,000 for an end-of-terrace in Druid's Court in Poppintree, where the sports centre will open soon, on the road to the Charlestown shopping centre close by. For an extra €5,000, there is a three-bed mid-terrace with a south-facing garden at Sandyhill Gardens, while for €300,000 you can get a well-maintained house on Galloun Road, again in Poppintree, with a conservatory and decked garden.
And to rent?
Scarce one-beds start at €850 a month for a third-floor apartment at Shangan Hall and work up to €950 (or a little more) for something at the Plaza, with both properties close to all amenities. Entry-level two-beds cost €1,000 and come with a balcony and parking at the Hampton's at Santry Cross or closeness to the village at College View. Turnpike at Santry Cross, away from the buzz and closer to the M50, is looking for €1,150, while a number of apartments are chancing their views varying in price from €1,400 down to €1,100. Top of the market is a two-bed south-facing penthouse on the fifth floor at the Plaza, with a parking space, for €1,500.
Going out?
The 13 and 13A are very reliable.
Price of a pint
€4.30 in McDermott's Bar in the Ballymun Plaza hotel.
Good for families?
It's up the road from the proposed children's hospital. School places are not an issue. Playgrounds for younger children and parks have been one of the first fruits of the regeneration programme. But there is a problem with creche facilities. Running a support and drop-in information centre based in the Ballymun Partnership's offices, Dublin Northwest Childcare Information Centre's Esther Byrne acknowledges more creches are needed "although a lot of work is being done". One such proposal will provide a creche in the new Poppintree sports centre, opening 2009.
What's to do?
With work in progress everywhere, options are limited, although the Axis theatre is doing its fair share. Upcoming events in June include: the Near FM Sessions, June 26th and 27th, showcasing Northside bands; Patrick Talbot's play, Rita Dunne, which runs from July 3rd to 5th; and the summer season of films for the over-55s Pictures Film Club starts July 28th with The Lives of Others.
There's also the Ballymun pool, which has many admirers, and the Reco youth centre, renovated a couple of years ago to include a youth restaurant and 100 organised activities a week such as aikido, hip-hop, and art programmes.
Home to . . .
Regeneration, regeneration, regeneration - and IKEA in 2009.
Locals say
"The neighbours are always there to lend a helping hand.I wouldn't swap Ballymun for Castleknock" (Kathleen Maughan).
"The Ballymun regeneration project has been great for anyone in the blocks and people are really getting behind it" (Sharon Maguire).
"There aren't enough pubs, and when the Towers go, we'll have to go half-way down the road to The Slipper, or whatever it's called now, for a drink" (Charlie Mooney).
"That horse, mister, is a racehorse, do you want to buy it?" (Teenage horse-trader).
