Dublin 4: €3.5m: A house close to the sea in Sandymount is on the market for the first time since it was built in 1840, writes Joyce Hickey.
A semi-detached house with a large side garden at St John's Road in Sandymount carries an advised minimum value (AMV) of €3.5 million prior to auction through joint agents Sherry FitzGerald and Palmer Property Advisors on May 25th.
Number 16 is an end of terrace house on this short road that connects the Sandymount seafront with Park Avuene, where a house was recently sold for €9 million.
Number 16 St John's Road has been home to five generations of the same family and is now in need of refurbishment. With over 100ft of road frontage there is clear potential to develop the side garden, possibly by extending the terrace with one or two replica houses.
Inside, the top floor has been a self-contained apartment since the early days, but the original return was knocked down in 1970 and replaced with a larger three-storey extension that took up some of the large side garden, a benefit of being end-of-terrace.
This means there is no central staircase - instead, its 1970s replacement is to the right of the hall door. The first owners of the house named it Shandon, and their four daughters were called the "Shandon Belles".
One of the best rooms in the house is the top floor drawingroom which has has two tall sash windows with shutters and a window seat and original built-in cupboards either side of the imposing fireplace. The apartment also includes a double bedroom with original wardrobes and a fine fireplace, a bathroom with a huge old basin, and a kitchen. There is a large livingroom in the extension, well lit by windows to the south and west.
At hall level, there were originally two reception rooms linked by sliding doors. One has been divided into two bedrooms and the other is a grand room with two tall windows facing south. Also on this level are a guest toilet and, in the extension, another bright dual-aspect livingroom. The 1970s influence is strongest on the ground floor, where open-tread stairs lead to a big square hall off which is an airy livingroom with French doors out to the garden.
There's a generously proportioned kitchen/diningroom, off which is a utility room that leads to a south-facing sun-trap patio. Also on this level, at the front, are a bathroom, a bedroom with walk-in wardrobe, and plenty of storage under the front steps and in the hall. There's a lot of potential to bring this house back to its original condition. However,given the scarcity of sites in this area, the biggestappeal of the property might be the 376sq m (4,047sq ft) side garden.
