The first phase of Mount Andrew, a new development of four-bedroom houses in the older part of Lucan, comes on the market this weekend. Westbound motorists will be familiar with the site's large water-tower near the main motorway. It is on the St Loman's Hospital site sold last year, and opposite Hermitage Golf Club.
The entire development consists of 98 four-bedroom semidetached and four-bed detached houses, starting at £150,000 for the semis, and £210,000 for the detached. The first 24 houses for sale will be ready for occupation before November. The remainder will be completed by April of next year.
One of the most attractive features of Mount Andrew is the extensive swathe of open parkland that borders the development. The 17 detached houses will all overlook the parkland with its line of very tall, ancient chestnut trees which Michael Whelan, Mount Andrew's developer, is landscaping. Most of the new developments in Lucan are in south Lucan but Mount Andrew is in the older St Mary's parish, which has seen virtually no new development due to the shortage of available land. Also, this part of Lucan is noticeably closer to the city centre, which adds to the attractiveness of the houses.
At 1,690 sq. ft, the detached houses, which start at £210,000, are very large for new four bedroom houses. In most modern developments, this square footage would be turned into a five-bedroom house. The result is a very spacious family home with wide interconnecting reception rooms, good-sized bedrooms and a particularly attractive, well-designed, eat-in kitchen. The houses are double-fronted, so there is the definite bonus of a third reception room which would make an ideal study or television room. The main reception rooms are a good size and the back room doesn't follow the trend of having double patio doors - instead it has a traditional picture window.
The kitchen is contemporary looking with extensive plain maple units, room for a large family dining table and double patio doors out on to the garden. Off the kitchen is a large, well appointed utility room with a door that opens on to the side of the house.
Upstairs, off the spacious landing, there are three large double bedrooms, and a small single. The main bedroom has a roomy en suite and the family bathroom is bright and well appointed.
The other type of house in Mount Andrew is a four-bedroom semi-detached of 1,340 sq. ft priced from £150,000. This house size makes up most of the development and some buyers will have the opportunity of buying a house with an integrated garage. There are interconnecting reception rooms and again the window in the dining room is a large picture window that overlooks the garden. The eat-in kitchen is very bright because it has glazed double patio doors, as well as a window over the sink. Off the kitchen is a small utility room.
Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, two doubles, one large single and one small single. The main bedroom, which feels spacious thanks to a good-sized bay window, has an en suite and there is a good sized family bathroom. As in the detached houses, the bedrooms feature built-in wardrobes.
