The last apartment scheme to be built by Temple Bar Properties goes on view today. Called Scarlet Row, the 25 apartments on offer are in the west end of the area and border Essex Street and Fishamble Street. They are a mix of mostly one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, and reserve prices, according to agents Hooke & MacDonald, start at £192,000. The two-bed units start at £280,000. There is a three-bedroom penthouse with a reserve price of £550,000.
Nine years ago, the first apartments in Temple Bar went on sale and now that the residential part of the development is complete, this is the last chance prospective buyers will have to buy a new apartment in the area and to avail of the considerable tax incentives.
The prices quoted for Scarlet Row are only the minimum reserve prices as the apartments are being sold under a sealed bid system, so the final prices could be considerably higher. Viewing starts today and continues until June 12th, during which time prospective buyers will be told the minimum reserve price on the apartment they are interested in. They will then have to make sealed bids based on the reserve and hope that their bid is highest. The sealed envelopes will be opened on June 13th. Temple Bar Properties feels this is the fairest system as it does away with the panic and pressure that happens when buyers have to queue.
Based on the show apartment, the one-bedroom units are a disappointment in that they feel more like a studio apartment than anything else. Their size and layout make them suitable for a rather tidy person who wants to live alone and who rarely eats in, never mind entertains.
The kitchen area is off the livingroom and is partially separated from it by a counter-height wall. Light comes into the kitchen via a small area of glass brick, which might be an attractive design touch, but a window that opens is usually more preferable and practical in a kitchen. While the kitchen itself is well-laid out in terms of units, there is no obvious room in the apartment for a reasonable sized dining table other than the foldaway variety. The bedroom is off the livingroom and there is a sliding door that links the two rooms. Again, a sliding door is an interesting modern touch but in a tiny apartment it does give the place a bedsit feel.
Presumably the idea is that leaving the sliding door open would make the flat seem bigger but, practically speaking, it is hardly likely to be left open very often, as it would mean that the bedroom would be as full of cooking smells as the livingroom.
There is also access to the bedroom from the hall making the presence of that sliding door even more of a mystery. There is a compact, well-appointed bathroom and a storage closet in the hallway. The two-bedroom duplexes are the most attractive units and feel like townhouses in terms of their layout. Reserve prices for these 12 duplexes start at £290,000. In addition to the bedrooms, they also have a smaller room, which could be used as a study or a dressing room. They certainly feel considerably more spacious than their square footage because they are designed on three levels.
Entrance is at mid-level and you walk downstairs to the living area and upstairs to the bedrooms. In the show apartment, the bedrooms are a good-sized double and a single. The narrow dressing room/study features a "window" made of glass bricks. Downstairs, the living area feels roomy with space for sofas and chairs, as well as a dining table. The kitchen is off the living area and again it is partially separated from the rest of the accommodation by a counter-height wall. There is good storage under the stairs. Most of the apartments have their own balconies and there is a lift.
The inside of the apartments are, of course, only part of the story in any apartment development. What also matters is the communal areas and in this Scarlet Row does rather well with wide corridors that have been cleverly designed so that they benefit from the natural light pouring in from the glazed roof. There is also a communal south-facing landscaped courtyard.
The tenant mix is bound to be made more interesting as Temple Bar Properties are withholding 13 apartments, which will be used for visiting artists and academics on a short-term basis. There are three carpark spaces available at £35,000 each, one of which is being sold with the penthouse.
