Dublin 1: from €168,000The lucky person selected in a draw by Dublin City Council to buy a €259,000 penthouse on North Great Charles Street in the north inner city will get a spacious apartment with a wraparound terrace and views of the mountains and Dublin Bay.

The penthouse is part of an affordable scheme of 29 units for which 88 people on Dublin City Council's affordable waiting list were entered into a draw.

There are 11 one-bed 43sq m (462sq ft) apartments with a starting price of €168,000 and 18 two-bed 70sq m (753sq ft) apartments which have an average price of €220,000.

Sixteen single people were chosen, who mainly got the one-beds, as well as a few two-beds, and the rest went to couples with and without children, and single-parent families.

Number 54/55 North Great Charles Street is off Mountjoy Square and has a secure surface car-park, electronic gates, large balconies, and terraces. The majority of units are dual aspect. All of the units have Shaker-style kitchens.

A showhouse apartment has been set up to demonstrate what can be achieved.

The apartments were built by the Irish-owned Thornsett Group in a public/private partnership.

Thornsett bought the site in 2003 and submitted a proposal to Dublin City Council to provide a turnkey development of 29 apartments.

Assistant Dublin City Manager Brendan Kenny says the council would be "open" to more developers approaching it with sites for affordable housing. "We would be keen to do it again but high land costs might make it difficult to offer units at such a good price."

Thornsett has been involved in a number of social and affordable housing projects both here and abroad.