Hearing entrepreneur and founder of Quote Devil insurance brokers John McGuire was heading to Las Vegas to see U2 play in the Sphere last week – for the second time, in fact – I had to ask if his Ballsbridge home, Elevation, was named for the Dublin band’s 2001 song. It turns out the title was just a happy coincidence for the U2 fan; his wife, TV presenter Karen Koster, had christened it once she saw the plans for the lofty four-storey-over-basement townhouse.
McGuire bought the site with planning permission in 2008, he says, and building work began on Elevation in 2010, with the couple moving in in 2013. The party-ready property features three-double bedrooms, each occupying a different floor, a spacious basement with a bar, and a rooftop terrace occupying the entire top floor. With the couple and their three children moving to nearby Donnybrook about a year and a half ago, Elevation is now on the market through Owen Reilly estate agents, seeking €1.95 million.
The 304sq m (3,272sq ft) townhouse couldn’t be in a more convenient location, with Roly’s Bistro around the corner and Herbert Park fulfilling the role of an expansive city garden for the occupants, located just metres away.
You enter the property from the side lane, into a bright double-height entrance hall overlooked by a mezzanine on the first floor. A window from the entrance hall looks into a home office room on the left. Further down the hall is a bookshelf which doubles as a secret door down to the basement room; wooden wine racks occupy the entire wall at the top of the stairs. You may want to grab a bottle on your way down to the basement, as it is the ultimate party layer with moody navy colour scheme and a bar at its centre, large enough to sit around and put the world to rights.
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The space is soundproofed for music; the current owners played the drums to their heart’s content down here and had The Snails play a gig there at one of the couple’s New Year’s Eve parties. A portion of the room has been set up as a living area, which is great for movie nights, McGuire says.
There is also a utility room off the basement and a garage big enough to park your car on the ground floor.
A double bedroom sits on the opposite side of the ground floor from the basement access point, almost identical to the two further double bedrooms on the first and second floors respectively, with an en suite and sliding-door wardrobes, filled with light from a window over the bed and one looking on to the entrance hall. A guest WC, painted hot pink, also sits on the ground floor.
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A bright, southwest-facing kitchen/diningroom is on the first floor with a large island unit at its centre and a small balcony, which you could fill with plants. The units do show signs of use so a prospective new owner may look to have them updated. Just like the floor beneath, an en suite bedroom and a guest WC occupy the other wing of the first floor.
A dual-aspect livingroom sits over the kitchen on the second floor with an inset gas-effect fireplace and French doors out to a large patio balcony, facing towards Herbert Park. The main bedroom occupies the other wing of the floor, different from the other two bedrooms as it has a dressingroom with a vanity unit and built-in wardrobes attached. Accessed from the bedroom and the livingroom is a side balcony seating area with artificial grass underfoot.
The 87sq m roof terrace on the top floor is the pièce de résistance of this property, offering 360-degree views of Ballsbridge with a paved patio on one side overlooking Herbert Park and an outdoor dining space with artificial grass overlooking the Aviva Stadium on the other side.
The owners oldest son was a bit reluctant to move from Elevation so McGuire promised him he’d hold on to it until he was happy in a new home. Now with the family happily settled nearby, and still making frequent visits to their favourite spots in the area such as Roly’s, The Lobster Pot, Bella Cuba and Al Boschetto, this impressive, B2-rated townhouse is primed to welcome a new owner; someone who still hasn’t found what they’re looking for, perhaps.
