Mount St Anne's apartments centre of major new housing development

Milltown

The largest housing development in recent years in Dublin's southside goes on view to the public for the first time today when about 70 apartments are offered for sale at Mount St Anne's in Milltown, Dublin 6.

Prices will range from £185,000 for one-bedroom apartments up to £1,150,000 for the most spacious penthouses.

The apartments, located in a crescent-shaped five-storey block, will form the centre-piece of a development which will have a considerable mixture of houses and apartments when it is completed in less than three years. Park Developments are initially to build a total of 488 residential units, some of them in converted school and convent buildings and a former church. Total sales are expected to reach almost £150 million.

The second phase of the scheme, which will include three-storey houses with five bedrooms along with four-bedroom duplex units over ground floor apartments, are due to be launched next spring when show units have been completed.

Location will be a strong selling point for the scheme which is within easy walking distance of Ranelagh and Donnybrook and a 30 minute stroll from St Stephens Green. For those who prefer quick access to the city centre, there will be a nearby station for the Luas light rail service which will run along the rear of the site.

Mount St Anne's is bounded by the grounds of Gonzaga College on one side and Alexandra College on another. It also adjoins two leafy roads, Merton Road and Richmond Avenue South, where house values have soared in the past few years.

Although investors have largely withdrawn from the Dublin residential market because of tough tax measures introduced by the Government, Ronan O'Driscoll, of selling agents Hamilton Osborne King, says he expects that some of the new apartments will nevertheless be bought by business people for rental purposes. Others will go to couples planning to retire over the next few years and a further batch will be acquired by young people with the help of funding from their parents.

Michael Cotter's Park Developments bought Mount St Anne's as far back as 1995 for £9 million but was prevented from developing the site until this year because of a sustained campaign by local residents' associations.

As it turns out, the lengthy delay has been to the advantage of Park because of the sharp increase in house values in the interim. Last summer, the company acquired a further 3.5 acres from the Sisters of Mercy for £8 million - £1 million less than was originally paid for the 18 acres - and this too will be used in due course for housing.

The 70 apartments going on the market today in Milltown Hall are located in a long, curved block with a buff coloured facade of reconstituted stone. There are nine separate entrances with lifts and stairwells and full length windows. The lifts also run to the basement where there is a well laid out carpark. Selling prices will include one space, except in the case of those buying penthouses who will get two spaces.

The kitchens in all the apartments are undoubtedly among the best finished in any Dublin apartment block. They all have Siematic wall and floor units, a stainless steel hood over the cooker and a full range of integrated Neff electrical appliances. Bathrooms have also been completed to a high specification with attractive sanitary ware and tasteful tiling.

There is a great variety of apartments available, including one-bedroom units with an average of 600 sq ft which are priced from £185,000 to £196,000. Because these are laid out on one side of the lift shaft, both the livingroom/kitchen and the bedroom are south-facing. Like all the apartments, they have full length windows and doors opening on to a good-sized balcony.

Two-bedroom apartments are also quite spacious, with 1,000 sq ft including a fine livingroom and a kitchen off it. Prices run from £265,000 to £299,000 and include an en suite with the main bedroom.

HOK also expects strong interest in a number of two-bedroom penthouses which have 1,200 sq ft and a price tag of £450,000. All of them have a stunning open plan living area running the full 80 ft depth of the building. The livingroom is ideal for entertaining and has an unusual sandstone fireplace piped for natural gas. There is a terrific walk-through kitchen in the centre leading into a diningroom which can seat a good-sized crowd. The main bedroom has an en suite.

For those with even deeper pockets there will also be four particularly large penthouses priced at £1,150,000. These have not yet been fitted out but they will have three bedrooms, three bathrooms, luxurious kitchens and huge living areas.

The balconies are an important feature of all the apartments; ideal for al fresco dinner parties, they overlook four-acres of gardens and, in the distance, the Dublin mountains.