Apartments by the river at £148,000

An apartment development looking directly over the River Liffey, near the Phoenix Park in Dublin 8, opens to the public for the first time today. Prices will start at £148,000 for one-bedroom units and from £174,000 for spacious two-bedroom homes.

The Riverpark scheme, at Conyngham Road, Islandbridge, is well advanced and will have a total of 117 apartments, most of them two-bedroom units. Hamilton Osborne King sold 36 units off the plans and another 40 being released at this stage will complete sales in two of the three tall blocks on the edge of the river.

One-bedroom apartments with between 495 sq ft and 510 sq ft are priced from £148,000 to £166,000, while two-bedroom units with 689 sq ft to 775 sq ft are available from £174,000 to £214,000.

There are also a number of exceptionally fine two-bedroom duplex units with 1,389 sq ft which will cost £388,000. Spaces in the integrated car-park are priced at £12,500.

All nine penthouses in the development were sold off the plans.

Catherine O'Connor of Hamilton Osborne King expects the apartments to be of interest to both investors and owner-occupiers because of their "superb riverside location so close to the city centre".

Even with the tax breaks gone for investors, there is increasing evidence that the small investors are returning to the apartment market because of the higher rents available as a result of the slowdown in new developments in the city.

Riverpark is being built by Capel Developments, a major player in the apartment market which is also marketing apartments and houses at Linden in Blackrock.

The Riverpark apartments will have instant appeal because of the great views along the river opposite the sidings at Heuston Station. The apartment blocks rise eight storeys high along the river to capitalise on the views and to catch the sun for most of the day. The blocks stand four-storeys along Conyngham Road from where there are views over part of the Phoenix Park. For those who take regular exercise, the proximity of the park will be a huge attraction.

All the homes have livingrooms with either one or two full-size windows and balconies which will come in handy in the long summer evenings. Kitchens are just off the livingrooms and are nicely laid out. Bedrooms are all doubles and come with beech wardrobes. Overall, the apartments are both comfortable and stylish - qualities that should appeal to people looking either for a good investment or a well-located apartment home.

Capel plans to provide large open landscaped areas along the river bank.