It is rare enough that a new development of houses comes on the market in Dublin 6. For that reason alone, there is likely to be strong interest in the new three-storey, four-bedroom houses in Harold's Cross Road. Prices range from £385,000 to £425,000.
Agents Hooke & MacDonald will also be taking bookings for a number of particularly large homes priced from £475,000 to £510,000.
The infill development is well advanced, tucked away in a private enclave on the edge of Harolds Cross Greyhound Stadium. At least 20 houses are to be released for sale at this stage in the Leinster Park scheme, which will have a total of 81 houses when it is completed around the end of the year.
Selling prices have been partially dictated by the high site costs. Garland Homes bought the five-acre site last summer from Bord na gCon for £10.6 million - the equivalent of £130,000 per unit.
At this price, buyers will be able to avail of the convenience of a mature suburb close to schools, shops and the city centre, with few of the traffic problems experienced by commuters further out.
Leinster Park has all the appearances of a well-designed development set on a landscaped site. There are two house types available in the first phase, each of them with four-bedrooms and considerably more space than is usual in new homes. All of them are being built in short terraces fronting on to a series of cobble-locked courtyards and landscaped areas. The three-storey configuration, the complicated roof tiling and the reddish-brown brick facade give Leinster Park a distinctive appearance. Certainly, it is hard to think of anything to match it elsewhere in the city.
The development will appeal mainly to families looking for well-finished townhouses with lots of living and bedroom space. The cheapest house type starting at £385,000 has a floor area of 1,510 sq ft with most of the ground floor given over to an open plan family room, dining area and kitchen.
The kitchen itself opens off the dining area and has an impressive range of Shaker-style wall and floor units. The room has plenty of day light with most of it coming from French doors leading out on to a wooden deck. There is also a separate, and more formal, livingroom off the entrance hall, complete with a wooden fireplace and gas fire.
There is a lavatory under the stairs. Upstairs, there are two double bedrooms on the first floor, one of them with an en suite shower room and the other beside the main bathroom. There is a further bathroom on the top floor to service two more double bedrooms.
The larger four-bedroom house has 1,700 sq ft with most of the extra space located on the ground floor. Like the other house type, the main room has three distinct functions - a kitchen, a decent sized dining area and at the other end, a place to laze on a comfortable couch. There is a large French door out on to a wooden deck. The rear gardens with both showhouses are quite small. However, the developers say that gardens with many of the other houses will be bigger.
The larger house type has a separate livingroom, over 18 ft 6 in by 15 ft 6 in and comes with a white marble fireplace, cast-iron inset and gas fire. The two double bedroom on the first floor have en suite shower rooms. The main bathroom is also located at this level. The two bedrooms on the top floor are doubles.
