Apartments start at €295,000 in a jaw-droppingly modern development being built in Sandyford Business Park. It will include shopping streets, a spa, crèche and a copper-clad dome. Property Editor Orna Mulcahy reports

Apartments go on sale today in one of the most ambitious new developments to be launched in south Dublin. Beacon South Quarter, at the Sandyford Business Park, will be a brand new neighbourhood, part of a 100-acre site being built by developers Paddy Shovlin and brothers Pat and Tony Fitzpatrick.

The trio who make up Landmark Developments have already built a striking new office complex, Beacon Court, on the site, which is on the corner of Blackthorn Road, within striking distance of the M50 and a short walk from the Luas.

The offices and their recently opened Beacon Hotel will give potential buyers a taste of what is to come in the residential and retail complex.

Around 750 apartments in several buildings as well as shopping streets, a cultural centre, cafés and restaurants, a crèche and a five-star spa will be built in the landmark scheme centred on a plaza with a seven-storey copper-clad dome that will itself contain apartments.

Work is also well advanced on a 145-bed hospital that is also part of the overall scheme. This will be of considerable interest to investors looking at the residential element, with at least 600 nursing and medical staff due to be employed there.

Selling agent Ross McParland of Sherry FitzGerald New Homes describes the scheme, designed by the Traynor O'Toole Partnership, as "simply jaw-dropping".

Visitors to the strikingly modern marketing suite - which reputedly cost €1 million to build - cannot but be impressed by the sheer scale of the project which can be viewed as a model, or on a series of touch screen computers.

Construction work has begun on the first of four major schemes planned - called the Cubes, the Arcs, the Points and the Edges - with the first residents expected to move in by mid-2006.

The first 100 apartments which go on sale today are in the Cubes, a series of three glass-fronted buildings with striking thrust-out bays that overlook the central plaza.

The one, two and three-bedroom apartments are being sold from plans with prices ranging between €295,000 and €350,000 for 44-67 sq m (475-675 sq ft) one-bedroom units; 62-78 sq m (667-843 sq ft) two-bedroom apartments cost from €350,000 to €450,000.

Three-bedroom 141 sq m (1,520 sq ft) duplexes are priced from €795,000 while three-bedroom dual aspect penthouses with 159-171 sq m (1,713-1,843 sq ft) of accommodation and extensive with very large outdoor spaces cost from €995,000 to €1.1 million.

Self-employed buyers will be particularly interested in a number of own door live/work units that are priced from €325,000 to €455,000.

These apartments - on the ground and first floor of the Cubes buildings, have planning permission to be used as offices or showrooms as well as homes. They vary in size from 64-91 sq m (690-983 sq ft).

The marketing suite has two full scale apartments on show - a one-bed and a two-bed. These are very smart apartments in terms of both layout and fitout and they certainly raise the bar for other developments across the city.

The kitchens are big with lots of clever storage and top-of-the-range integrated appliances. Good lighting will be a feature too, with recessed and spot lighting throughout and dreamy light up panels fitted to the baths.

Even the doors into the apartments are taller than average, and they'll be recessed to give a porch-like effect. Each unit will be wired for next generation fibre optic internet capability.

Decor aside "what you see is what you get in the finished units" says Rob Turnbull, a commercial associate at Landmark. Other features include a 24-hour concierge service with staff who will book taxis and even order pizzas.

There will also be a residents' area - a large space of over 371 sq m (2,000 sq ft) that can be booked for parties.

A theatre is also on the cards, as well as an outdoor performance space, and residents will be updated on cultural events billed for the quarter.

In an unusual move, author and theatre director Peter Sheridan has been engaged as an adviser to develop a cultural strategy for the neighbourhood.

For a virtual tour of the marketing apartments, click on nicemove.ie