Tax Relief Developments: Section 23 apartments in two blocks at the gateway to Ballymun's new main street will sell from €210,000. Jack Fagan, Property Editor, reports
A tax-driven apartment development going for sale off the plans next month in Ballymun is expected to reaffirm the strength of both the investment and owner occupier markets in the attractive new town now rapidly taking shape in north Dublin.
With one-bedroom apartments available from €210,000 and two-bedroom units from €275,000, the selling prices will be the lowest for Section 23 homes in the Dublin suburbs, according to Ross McParland of Sherry FitzGerald New Homes. The joint selling agent is Hugh Markey of Lisney. The homes will be ready to move into towards the end of this year.
The €100 million Santry Cross apartments are being developed by Pierse Homes in two landmark blocks that will form part of the northern gateway to Ballymun's new main street. A number of impressive buildings have already been completed, most notably the large Civic Centre on the southern end of the street, but the real metamorphosis of the old Ballymun will swing into action in the coming months when the first of the 36 high rise apartment blocks are demolished to make way for a range of new facilities.
The "vibrant" new town being redeveloped at a cost of €2.5 billion is the largest urban renewal scheme ever embarked on in this country. It will be seen as a catalyst for future urban regeneration.
The two impressive Santry Cross apartment blocks will stand six and 16 storeys high and will include 341 apartments - about half of them with Section 23 tax breaks - as well as more than 20 ground floor shops and restaurants and 148 sq m (16,000 sq ft) of office facilities.
The 60 apartments being released for sale in the first phase are likely to be targeted by both investors and first-time buyers anxious to avail of tax incentives which are becoming ever more scarce in the Dublin area.
A marketing suite opening shortly at the junction of Ballymun Road and Santry Avenue will give visitors a good indication of the high spec fit-outs commissioned for the apartments. Buyers will get the now standard range of integrated electrical appliances in the open-plan kitchens as well as smart, contemporary fittings that will be comfort-driven. The two-bedroom apartments will have an average floor area of 69.6 sq m (750 sq ft) and the main bedroom will have an en suite. One-bedroom homes will generally be around 50 sq m (540 sq ft) and like the larger units, will have good-sized balconies with galvanised steel hand-rails and Iroko timber decking.
Santry Cross is one of a number of major developments currently under way in Ballymun, which will have a population of at least 30,000. It adjoins Dublin City University, where student numbers are around 10,000. Five residential neighbourhoods will be clustered around the one-kilometre long main street stretching from Collins Avenue to Santry Avenue. There is every reason to believe that a worthwhile level of capital appreciation will be achieved over the coming years. One of the first blocks of Section 23 apartments, bought by a private investor about two years ago, has since been sold on to individual buyers at a significant profit.
Ross McParland foresees a strong rental market in Ballymun not only because of DCU but also because of its close proximity to Dublin Airport and the fact that it is only a short bus trip into the city. A new arts centre with a theatre has already been completed and work is well advanced on a health and fitness centre.
In the longer term the rundown shopping centre will be replaced by a new retail complex and a designated site alongside the town will be turned into a €760 million technology park by Green Property.
