Corporation housing scheme points the way

Some of the best thought-out, most spacious and attractive city-centre homes to be built in Dublin in recent years will have their first tenants by Christmas. And the really surprising thing about Wolfetone Close is the identity of the developer - Dublin Corporation.

The cleverly-conceived complex of apartments, maisonettes and two-bedroom houses set around a courtyard two storeys above street level is a million miles away from the traditional image of corporation housing.

"The idea was to learn from our mistakes, to create something that wasn't just a number of units but a place that people could live in five, 10, 15 years down the road . . . we wanted to create homes as well as houses and prove that we can do things just as well, and sometimes better, than the private developer," says Brendan Kenny, principal housing officer with Dublin Corporation.

The complex is on Wolfe Tone Street near the corner with Parnell Street, opposite the Virgin Cinema complex in the city centre. It occupies a piece of land bounded by Jervis Street, Parnell Street, and Wolfe Tone Street that until recently consisted of two large carparks and a number of derelict buildings.

Much of the street has now been developed with a newly-built private apartment complex already occupied and another one in progress. It is here the corporation has created what the project architect, Gerry Bowe, describes as a little oasis inside the hustle and bustle of town.

Above Smyths toy store, on the Jervis Street side, the uniform exterior gives no hint of the variety of units behind the walls. The redbrick complex is entered via Wolfe Tone Street by a wide, almost grand, stone stairway. It has not yet been decided whether the standard fortress-like metal gates will be added. The development can also be reached by lifts that are accessed by tenants with swipe cards.

In stark contrast to many corporation estates, the courtyard is a pleasant open space, boasting colourful murals and a spaces for trees. As much as possible, tenants have their own front doors, and the ground floor units all have attractive railings and a gate creating a front garden effect.

"It was important to encourage a sense of ownership," says Mr Bowe. Some 37 of the units have their own hall door, while there are a maximum of eight apartments per common entrance door.

As for the units themselves, there are 75 in total, consisting of 37 houses and maisonettes and 38 apartments. There are 21 one-bedroom and 54 two-bedroom units. Inside, they are noticeably more spacious than the apartments found in many private developments. Most units have generous balconies.

Each home has an open fireplace, as recommended in the Department of Environment guidelines on local authority housing.

While the 4,000 sq ft complex is blandly rectangular in shape, the use of interesting features such as glass panels, curving brickwork and arches serve to make the development visually stimulating.

According to Mr Kenny, the profile of tenants will be middle aged to elderly. The lack of recreation space in the area means Wolfetone Close would not be suited to couples with young children.

The development is understood to have cost £750,000 and was built by Gem Construction, which is now putting the final touches to the site. Average weekly rents for the corporation tenants are expected to be about £12. The commercial element of the development is occupied by Smyth's toy shop at street level, which bought the site from Dublin Corporation.

Wolfetone Close is seen as a flagship housing project that will point the way forward for local authority architects and planners in the future. The way the complex is managed will also change, with a more hands-on approach to be adopted by the corporation.

The new development will go some way to dispelling the broadly negative public perception of social housing in the Dublin area - a perception endorsed by the problems associated with complexes such as Fatima Mansions, Oliver Bond and St Michael's Estate.

"Wolfetone Close follows in the wake of several complexes such as those on Bride Street, City Quay and North King Street that were developed by Dublin Corporation with more in mind than merely providing a roof over tenants' heads," says Mr Kenny.

However, finding suitable sites to continue along this welcome path is becoming increasingly difficult in the face of competition from private developers.