The rise and fall of prices in a luxury apartment development in Foxrock says something about the changing fortunes of the property market before and after the 2008 property crash. Number 36 Hollybrook, a two-storey, three-bedroom penthouse in developer Sean Dunne’s Edwardian-style development just outside Foxrock village, had a pre-auction guide of €1.95 million when it went for sale in 2005 and was sold prior to auction for a Celtic Tigerish €2.6 million.
Post crash, prices for some of the 48 apartments in the development – which has large landscaped gardens, a residents’ gym, sauna, concierge service and boutique hotel-style common areas – halved, then edged up again.
More than 15 years later, Number 36 is for sale again, with an asking price of €1.75 million and a very high annual management fee of €12,980 (paid up to July this year). Management fees for other apartments in the scheme range from €7,000-plus a year upwards. Recent sales include that of another three-bed duplex, Number 22, which has no terrace, for €1,090,000 in 2018.
Number 36 Hollybrook, Brighton Road, Foxrock, Dublin 18, a two-storey 248sq m (2,669sq ft) three-bed penthouse with an extra 135sq m (1,452sq ft) terrace, is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald.
It’s one of just two apartments with an outdoor terrace of that size. The apartment, which was fitted out by interior designer Helen Turkington in 2005, is in good condition, recently painted, mostly in neutral shades.
The style is sumptuous, with lavishly curtained windows, period-style furniture and panelling in the entrance hall and the large open-plan drawing room/dining room.
Three double bedrooms and the family bathroom open off the good-sized front hall: all look into the central courtyard – formal gardens with a water feature lined with turquoise coloured tiles – of Hollybrook, which is built in a C shape. The main bedroom, with duck-egg blue wallpaper, has a large tiled en suite with bath and shower and ceramic stone-effect tiled floor; another smaller double bedroom has a walk-in dressing room and an en suite.
Upstairs, the large drawing room/dining room has a stone fireplace with a coal-effect gas fire, space for several sofas and two large tables; two windows on one side of the room look into the courtyard, while a wall of windows on the other looks on to the large terrace outside. Double doors from the drawing room/dining room open into the tartan-wallpapered family room and Dalkey Design kitchen beside it: new owners might consider revamping this space, opening up the relatively small kitchen to create one larger room.
Doors open from both the drawing room/dining room and family room on to the terrace, which looks towards the Dublin mountains.
Decking around the edges of the space may need some repairs, but it’s an attractive terrace with olive trees and potted bushes.
Outside, wide green lawns fringed with bushes surround the redbrick development, with three spaces at the back where residents can bring their barbecues.
Inside, a smart reception area manned by the concierge opens into long halls with wainscotted walls.
The leisure facilities include a basement gym with mirrored walls, a sauna, steam room and a currently-out-of-use hot tub.
Each apartment has two underground car-parking spaces and lock-up storage space.
