Carrickmines has been transformed in the last 20 years and has gone from being deep in the south Dublin countryside to a very des-res leafy suburb with great connectivity to Sandyford and on into the city. The Luas Green Line stop is just an eight-minute walk via a pedestrian shortcut from Orpen Hall, a new development of apartments at Brennanstown Wood on the Brennanstown Road, from where the journey time to St Stephen’s Green is 35 minutes.
When complete, the Park Developments scheme will comprise 84 A2-rated apartments of one, two and three bedrooms, as well as two- and three-bedroom penthouses in low-rise four-storey blocks across the large houses in the same estate.
Agent Savills is bringing 42 of these roomy and light-filled units to market on Thursday. And that is, in essence, what you are paying for here: a real sense of scale and openness, where even small families would like to live long term. Designed by O’Mahony Pike Architects, they are “almost like bungalows in the sky”, explains selling agent Darren Clendennen.
There is underfloor heating throughout including the common areas, ceiling heights exceed 2.5m, and floor-to-ceiling alu-clad triple glazing by Rationel means the hum of the nearby M50 has been silenced.
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Inside there is a luxurious sense of hush and a range of luxe fit-outs by some of the nation’s top-tier decorators in its three show units. Included in the sale is a kitchen by O’Connors of Drumleck with marble-look quartz countertops, Siemens kitchen appliances and white goods, and all come with smartly fitted bathrooms featuring large-format tiles from Tilestyle.
The 58sq m (620sq ft) one-beds, of which there are three, include a sizeable and separate utility room which means your home need never again be cluttered by visible racks of drying clothes. These cost €415,000 each.
The two-bed show unit is designed by Suzie McAdam and is a homage to American decorator Dorothy Draper’s Miami mid-century modern, Mimo for short, with bamboo greens and contrasting flamingo pinks, in its Pierre Frey wallpapers, Soane wicker furniture, Gubi armchairs and Jonathan Adler burl wood credenza. There are 21 of these for sale, ranging in size from 79sq m (847sq ft) to 107sq m (1,151sq ft) and in price from €525,000 to €665,000.
Of all the units the three-bedroom apartment most mimics the scale of the bungalow. Its accommodation is all off a long internal hall, where Denise O’Connor of Optimise Design has fitted a boot-room bench with coat rack. She has made use of every conceivable centimetre. In the third bedroom, for example, she has styled it as a home office fitted with an art deco-inspired built-in desk and day bed for overnight guests. The rest of the 12 units in this size bracket range in size from 119sq m (1,278sq ft) to 128sq m (1,373sq ft) and in price from €615,000 to €725,000.
There are six penthouses in total. Four are two-bedroomed units that measure from 117sq m (1,254sq ft) to 129sq m (1,389sq ft) and range in price from €850,000 to €925,000. Two three-bedroom units bookend the block and have large wraparound terraces with views across the valley east to Killiney Hill and south to the Dublin Mountains.
The show unit is by Arlene McIntyre’s Ventura Design and it is a real showstopper. Extending to 164sq m (1,775sq ft), it is vast. Traders down will find plenty of space for their larger pieces of furniture and there is scope to divide the huge open-plan space by installing some form of glass wall with doors, timber-panelled, Crittal-style steel or something even less structured. The third bedroom here has been turned into a very smart TV room, a real boon and a luxury of space. Including contents, this unit is asking €1.4 million. The other three-bed, top-floor home is seeking €1.1 million.
All units come with one underground car-parking space, which is wired for EVs; there will also be additional storage units to buy on a first come, first served basis.
The development will include a residents’ lounge with both indoor and outdoor areas to invite friends round, if you don’t want them in the house, or where you can get to better know your neighbours. Annual service charges range from about €1,165 for a one-bed to €3,327 for a three-bed penthouse.
