Blackrock homes from £258,000

Apartment developments in Blackrock are normally at the upper end of the scale and show attention to detail not always found elsewhere. Linden, a Capel Development scheme in the grounds of the former Linden Convalescent Home is launching its second phase this weekend, priced from £258,000. Hamilton Osborne King will be manning several show apartments displaying the wide selection of apartment layouts and sizes.

Linden is set back from Grove Avenue behind electronically-operated gates. Twelve four-storey blocks will eventually be arranged around elegant squares. These are in the process of being laid out in an Italianate-style with fountains, clipped hedges and flower-covered pergolas. The Mullins wing of the former convalescent home is to be incorporated into the apartment scheme in a later phase.

The last 34 apartments in the main block are on offer this weekend. A further 62 units have been sold since the scheme was launched from plans almost a year ago. There are 30 two-bedroom apartments and four penthouses for sale in several different layouts.

A key selling point will be the high standard of finish, with under-floor and ceiling electric heating, eight-pane windows overlooking the garden in all the apartments and underground car-parking to give an uninterrupted view over the grounds.

The majority of apartments in this phase are two-bedroomed, varying in size from 850 sq. ft to 1,254 sq. ft and priced from £258,000 up to £390,000 for the largest unit. A typical apartment costing from £350,000 has a diamond-shaped sitting-room with three tall windows and a small balcony off. There is a separate Shaker-style kitchen with steel handles and mosaic-type wall tiles.

The smaller apartments have a more conventional design, still with the bright windows overlooking the gardens and sit-out balcony. A utility room, supplied with all the Linden apartments, is an unusual luxury in apartments where space is normally at a premium.

There is also a good storage cupboard off the hall. Owners can buy a lock-up unit in the basement from £5,000. The bedrooms are good-sized, with fitted wardrobes. The main bedroom comes with an en suite shower. There are walk-in dressing-rooms in some of the larger two-bedroom apartments.

The four penthouses cost from £525,000, with prices of the larger units not yet decided. These have from 1,603 sq. ft up to 2,000 sq. ft of living space, including three bedrooms, walk-in wardrobes and large decked balconies off the sitting-room and the kitchen. Apart from the landscaped squares, the perimeter of the site has several mature trees and new planting on the driveway is blending in well.

Five large detached houses are to be built on land to the right of the entrance gates. The apartments currently for sale will be ready for occupation in May. The entire development is due to be completed within 18 months - future phases will have a separate site entrance to prevent ongoing disturbance, says the selling agent.