Designed by OCA Architects, Shrewsbury Square is a development of 80 luxury apartments within separate blocks ranging from four to five storeys high developed by Woodgreen Property.
Back in 2008 when it was hailed as the most luxurious new build in Dublin, prices started at €850,000 for two-bedroom units, rising to €2.3 million for three-bed penthouses.
Today, much as when they were launched, the market for these high-end units remains predominantly downsizers from the larger grandes dames in the Dublin 4 area and its environs.
The gated residential scheme located off Sandymount Avenue is within walking distance of the Dart and close to the RDS and Herbert Park, making its address among the most sought after in Dublin. It is also walking distance to the Aviva Stadium, making this a popular choice of residence for rugby aficionados.
Another selling point of the complex is the concierge service offered, whereby someone is on hand to accept deliveries and the like when owners are not in residence.
However, this service doesn’t come cheap in the latest offering from Sherry FitzGerald at 70/80 Shrewsbury Square, which was initially two penthouses. Now amalgamated, so it’s essentially a double residence, service charge (in the region of €11,000 per unit) is close to €22,000 a year, a price that also includes security and landscaping within the private, gated grounds. Due to the unit being a double, it also means there are four designated underground car parking spaces (as opposed to two for other penthouses), along with two separate storage units.
With a considerable 303sq m (3,261sq ft) of floor space, storage won’t be a concern to new owners of this double penthouse.
Occupying the entire top floor, a real selling point is the four terraces that surround the unit, and the fact that it has all four aspects of the compass. Every view is different, whether you are looking across to the Poolbeg Chimneys or over to the Aviva Stadium that appears to hover like a mother ship on the horizon. Even the tops of the mature trees in the quiet, leafy Dublin 4 suburb, add interest, privacy and colour.
This apartment benefits from two lifts – so essentially has both a front and back entrance. New owners have the option to change the unit back into two penthouses (subject to planning requirements) if desired, a simple enough exercise given its current configuration.
The property underwent a total renovation in 2012, so interiors such as flock wallpapers are a bit out of date, but this four-bedroom unit only requires cosmetic changes.
Light and space are what stand out in this unit. With floor-to-ceiling glazing and four sets of patio doors, it’s incredibly bright. The use of mirrors, as backsplashes in the kitchen and bar, along with a wall of mirror in the hallway, helps light to bounce right through the opulent interior.
In terms of luxury, the principal bedroom has two dressingrooms and two bathrooms, so is more akin to a five-star hotel suite. Small details such as a full-height headboard and an LED ceiling canopy over the bed that lights up like the sky at night are just some of its interior details.
The owners rarely cook, so the kitchen by Langrell Furniture was designed to look less like a place of culinary alchemy and more like an opulent dining area. In fact you’d have trouble telling you were actually in a kitchen, such is its subtle design. Here, mirrored glazing was used behind the sink area (instead of tiling) and this continues as a backdrop in the two walnut pantries flanking the sink at each side.
Flooring is a mixture of oak parquet, wide plank oak and velvet carpets in all bedrooms, and all five bathrooms have polished Crema Marfil interiors.
In is current layout, reception rooms lie to the left of the entrance hall in the form of a kitchen-cum-dining-cum-living space with an adjacent spacious drawingroom that includes a bar on one end. Both rooms have access to terraces to catch the sun at different times of the day.
All bedrooms and en suites lie to the right, along with a utility and ancillary storage rooms.
With four bedrooms – where the principal suite alone measures more than 60sq m – five bathrooms, two generously sized living areas, an abundance of storage and four composite decked terraces, it’s a lot of accommodation.
Its Ber is B3, which is a good reading given that the property has so much glazing and is 17 years old.
Penthouse 70/80 Shrewsbury Square is now for sale through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €3.5m.
