Apartments in high-spec city centre scheme

Dublin 8/from €495,000: Alexandra Walk, behind Whitefriars Church, is one of the very few apartment schemes for sale in Dublin's city centre, writes Orna Mulcahy, Property Editor

Forty apartments in a new phase of Sean Kelly's Adelaide Square development in Dublin 8 come to the market today with two-bedroom units starting at €585,000.

Alexandra Walk is a striking six-storey building on Whitefriars Street, within walking distance of Grafton Street, and beside Golden Lane, where a new Radisson Hotel is currently underway.

One-bedroom units in the scheme are priced from €495,000 while two three-bedroom apartments cost from €600,000 each.

On the top floor are two stunning penthouses with wraparound balconies giving views across the rooftops of the city on one side and towards the Dublin mountains on the other. These are priced at €1.35 million each through Hooke & MacDonald where Enda Moore is handling sales.

Built on the old Adelaide Hospital site, Adelaide Square has proved a big success for Kelly who formerly worked for Ballymore Homes in the UK.

Built in the late 1990s, the development set a new standard for city centre apartments with its concierge service, gym and swimming pool, and smartly landscaped communal grounds.

Alexandra Walk is linked to Adelaide Square by a wide landscaped walkway, while in front of the building is a pretty communal garden that Kelly has extended and landscaped for the city council.

Residents in the new block will share all the facilities at Adelaide Square, at a service charge of around €43 per sq m (€4 per sq ft). Underground car-parking is available at an additional €50,000.

A bright, mirrored entrance foyer is a far cry from the utilitarian entrances of many city centre blocks. There are two lifts, one at either end of the block, and each accesses just four apartments on each floor.

The apartments are a little on the small side, with one-beds starting from 40sq m (431sq ft), two-beds from 64sq m (689sq ft). The three-bedroom units have a more generous 96sq m (1,033sq ft) while the penthouses are altogether more spacious and bright with 116sq m (1,249sq ft) and 136sq m (1,464sq ft) respectively.

However, the high-spec finish is impressive, with Philippe Starck sanitary ware, all kitchen appliances included along with granite worktops and splashbacks. The bathrooms are particularly impressive with their black ceramic floors and extra wide showers.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the livingroom and bedrooms make the most of the building's orientation with balconies positioned on the sunny side.

The most attractive units are undoubtedly those on the top floor, where the two penthouse units have terrific reception rooms with double doors leading through to big, Italian-style kitchens.

Location aside, the big attraction of this development is the high standards of maintenance. Adelaide Square is several years old now, yet it has a well cared for, secure look to it that will appeal to owner-occupiers as well as investors looking for a safe bet in the city centre.