Derry, with its special character, busy commercial heart and university town status, is being targeted by investors as one of the most likely growth areas north of the Border.
Taggart Homes is currently selling the final tranche of apartments and townhouses at Clarendon Manor, an apartment and townhouse development on Northland Road close to the city's commercial centre. The Dublin-based Hamilton Osborne King agency is handling sales.
There are 20 two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments and 10 three-bedroom and four-bedroom townhouses for sale in this phase, out of a total of 42 units in the entire scheme.
Prices (in sterling) are from £110,000 to £140,000 for two-bedroom units with floor space from 939 sq ft and from £109,000 for 900 sq ft three-bedroom apartments. The 10 townhouses, which are being offered for the first time in this phase, range from £150,000 to £160,000. The letting market in Derry is extremely buoyant, due mainly to the presence of large employers such as Seagate, DuPont, BT, NTL and Raytheon. The University of Ulster is also expanding its Magee Campus in the city.
Rental income for the apartments has been estimated at up to £160 per week for one-bedroom units, £200 for two-bedroom apartments and £250 per week for the three-bedroom penthouses.
Good road and rail infrastructure ensures easy access and the City of Derry Airport is convenient for both business and personal use. The quiet landscape and beaches of Donegal a few miles outside the city are an added bonus. The location of Clarendon Manor on a raised site on the city's west bank with views over Clarendon Street to the river is one of its most attractive selling points.
Brooke Park is immediately to the west of the site, a nursery school and the Model Primary school are on the northwest and north-east boundaries and there is a church to the south-west.
The city centre with its restaurants, theatres and Temple Bar atmosphere is within walking distance of Northland Road. Quality of design and finish in Clarendon Manor compares favourably with anything London or Dublin could offer. Each townhouse or apartment comes fully-equipped with wooden flooring, built-in furniture, low voltage lighting and good quality kitchen and bathroom fittings.
The apartments are distributed among four blocks of varying styles and rooflines. Exteriors are of red brick and cream render, with curved steel flower balconies.
Each block has a plush carpeted entrance foyer with a lift servicing all floors. In addition, there is one block of six terraced townhouses and two blocks of semi-detached houses to the rear of the development. The communal grounds are landscaped with lawn and shrubs and the adjoining public park and school grounds create an open semi-rural aspect.
