Docklands1: from €300,000Smart apartments at Grand Canal Dock in Dublin's south docklands have been built before going on sale. Kate McMorrow reports
The first major docklands scheme to be built before going on the market, Hanover Quay is likely to attract a lot of attention from apartment buyers when it goes on view for the first time today.
Extending from Grand Canal Dock to Sir John Rogerson's Quay on the Liffey, this joint venture by Park Developments and Sisk sets a high standard for others to follow, with quality appliances, marble floor and wall tiling and a host of smart interior features.
In the first phase, selling agent Hamilton Osborne King is offering 114 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, out of 292 to be distributed among seven five-storey blocks.
Prices start at €300,000 for one-bedroom apartments of 53 sq m (580 sq ft). Two-bedroom units of 76 sq m (824 sq ft) cost from €400,000. Three-bedroom apartments of 96 sq m (1,042 sq ft) start at €505,000 and luxurious 105 sq m (1,138 sq ft two-level penthouses cost from €875,000.
Apartments facing south and west over the canal are understandably at the top end of the price scale and will be the first to sell, given their spectacular views. Three show units have been stylishly fitted out by designers Duff Tisdall, Violet Inc and The Natural Interiors.
Architects O'Mahony Pike have designed the buildings with views in mind, so floor-to-ceiling windows in the livingroom and main bedroom open to a decent-sized decked balcony/sunroom. In most apartments, the balcony is glassed-in by windows, which concertina completely back for summer use.
The high standard of fit-out is the same for all units, with gas-fired underfloor heating, extra high ceilings, oak doors and brushed steel sockets included. Kitchens come with Italian ceramic floor tiling, polished granite counter tops, lighting and a full range of appliances, including an electric hob, oven and extractor, dishwasher and fridge/freezer. A tiny storage room houses a washer/dryer.
Custom-designed bathrooms and en suites have unusual speckled marble wall and floor tiling, bath and showers with large shower heads and marble vanity tops. Everything is included, down to a glass shower screen, mirror, hooks, heated towel rail and chrome toilet roll holder. Showers have smart all-glass doors with steel handles and large shower trays.
Throughout, sockets and door fittings are of brushed chrome and the units are pre-wired from a central hub for flexible connection of telephones, broad band internet and entertainment systems. They are also wired for surround sound in living and bedroom areas.
Top of the range and likely to impress are two-storey three-bedroom penthouses with a very high interior spec. Siematic kitchens include marble worktops and Gaggenau appliances. Bathrooms and en suites include extensive Italian stone wall and floor tiling, a Jacuzzi bath, large rose shower heads and chic stone shower trays.
Built-in wardrobes, white and oak-trimmed, come with every imaginable interior fitting including an unusual pull-down clothes rail. Junckers wood flooring is used in the sittingroom and upstairs terrace room, with Italian stone in the working and bathroom areas.
The top floor of the penthouses are taken over by an airy informal terrace room opening to a huge wraparound deck capable of hosting a sizeable party. Views of the Liffey, the Dublin mountains and the canal basin below are spectacular.
An underground car-parking space can be bought for an additional €35,000. Canal-front apartments will be ready to move into by Christmas. The rest will be completed between January and October 2005.
