Dublin 11/from €265,000: Fifty two-bedroom apartments being launched today are the first of 500 units which will be built in a major development on Dublin's northside. Bernice Harrison reports.
One of the biggest new apartment developments on the northside of Dublin is being launched today by Hooke & MacDonald.
Prospect Hill in Dublin 11 is on the main Finglas Road and, when the entire development is complete in just over three years time, there will be 500 units, mostly apartments and a few townhouses.
The first phase of 50 two-bedroom apartments with prices starting at €265,000 are now being offered off the plans. The average size is 74 sq m (796 sq ft) and they will be ready for occupation early in 2006.
Even people who are not entirely familiar with Dublin might know Finglas Road because Glasnevin Cemetery is at the Glasnevin end of the road and it is a main artery leading out of the city centre to the M50.
Directly across from the Prospect Hill site is a large new development called Premier Square. Another landmark in the area is likely to be the McEniff Hotel which is being built next to Prospect Hill and is due for completion this summer.
There will be 10 blocks in Prospect Hill set in landscaped grounds. The highest will have eight storeys, and some will face onto the Finglas Road while others will look out onto Tolka Valley Road.
All the apartments in the development have two bedrooms with the duplexes having an unusual but attractive layout. The architect, Anthony Reddy Associates, has designed them in such a way that the downstairs living areas face in one direction, while upstairs the bedrooms face another, so owners have the advantage of dual aspect giving increased sun and light.
Most apartments have balconies with patio door access and each block is serviced by a lift.
This first phase is spread over two blocks. The bedrooms are doubles and one has an en suite.
Buyers have come to expect that appliances will be included in the sale price but this is not the case here. Smart Vision wiring is a standard feature so the apartments will come with broadband and be digitally enabled.
Car-parking is available in a series of underground car-parks and is extra, at €10,000 per space.
There is provision in the plans for a small number of retail units as well as a crèche - although with Tesco's smart Clearwater supermarket a walk away, shopping isn't likely to be problem. The Phibsboro shopping centre has also been earmarked for massive redevelopment which is a further amenity. The city centre is less than three miles away.
McCabe Builders is the developer. A fitted out sales centre on the site, which shows what a fully furnished apartment might look like, should help buyers see what they will ultimately be getting when the first 50 apartments are ready for completion some time next spring.
The centre is open today, tomorrow and Saturday.
