Final 45 released at Dun Laoghaire apartment scheme

Dun Laoghaire: Prices start at €270,000 for one-beds and €320,000 for two-beds at Granitefield Manor in south Co Dublin. Kate McMorrow reports

Location has proved a winner at Granitefield Manor, an apartment scheme off Rochestown Avenue, Dún Laoghaire which has sold strongly from plans since first launched.

The opening of a smart show apartment today coincides with the launch of the final 45 units in this development by Ellen Construction - builders with a reputation for quality work.

Ellen Construction and architects O'Dwyer & Associates were responsible for the successful WinterGarden scheme off Pearse Street.

Hooke & MacDonald and Brian Dwyer & Partners are jointly handling sales.

With about 90 apartments sold to early buyers, the final block is now on the market. Sizes are good and, with the dire shortage of residential sites in the Dún Laoghaire/Killiney area, there should be strong interest from people in the locality. Prices start at €270,000 for one-beds and €320,000 for two-beds, so first-time buyers, downsizers and investors will be equally in the running.

Granitefield Manor is beside the Rochestown Lodge Hotel at the Johnstown Road end of this long avenue. With quick access to the N11 and M50, proximity to several business parks and the ferry port at Dún Laoghaire, rental potential is excellent.

Granite entrance pillars flank electronically-controlled gates at the entrance to the development. The classic part-brick and render blends well with the surroundings, with curves and angles providing good natural light. Timber-framed windows are a softening influence.

Contained within a four-storey block with upper-floor views of the mountains, the 45 apartments are large by any standards. One-bedroom units are 56 sq m (605 sq ft) and two-bedroom apartments measure up to 75 sq m (805 sq ft).

Each block has an airy entrance lobby with service lifts to the car park and upper floors. Layouts vary according to position in the block, with choice two-beds on the angles particularly attractive.

One-bedroom apartments include an entrance lobby, open-plan sitting/diningroom with kitchen off, a double bedroom and bathroom.

A typical two-bedroom apartment has a similar sitting/diningroom, with a curved wall dividing off the kitchen.

French doors open to a decked sit-out balcony accessed from both the sittingroom and the main bedroom. An en suite shower and full bathroom are also standard with the two-beds.

All apartments come with a sittingroom fireplace and fully tiled bathrooms with mirrors and accessories in place.

Kitchen units are wood-look with chrome handles and bedrooms include fitted wardrobes. Thick internal doors are German-made and skirtings and architraves are also timber.

A number of penthouses with large balconies and great views have been set aside for a separate sales drive. Parking at Granitefield Manor is underground, with one space free with each apartment.

The absence of cars above ground (where is the guest parking?) creates maximum space for landscaping, which will include trees, shrubs and grassed areas with feature spotlighting. Apartments in this phase will be ready to move into by September 2004 according to the joint selling agents.

Viewing at Granitefield Manor is today and Friday from noon to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.