New apartments worth more than €135 million were sold yesterday in two schemes close to the centre of Dublin, even though they will not be ready to occupy for at least two years
Around 200 apartments were sold in Gallery Quay, a development overlooking Grand Canal Docks, off Pearse Street. Another 90 were sold in The Gasworks, a scheme about to be built by a different developer in nearby Barrow Street in Ringsend.
One of the attractions for buyers in both schemes is that apart from a deposit of €5,000 at this stage and a further €15,000 when contracts are completed in three weeks, the balance of the purchase price will not have to be paid until the apartments are completed early in 2005.
Gallery Quay will form part of the first phase of a €2 billion rejuvenation programme on the former Bord Gais site running from Pearse Street, along Macken Street, to the quays.
The purpose-built neighbourhood will eventually have one million sq ft of offices, a few thousand apartments and a range of restaurants, shops and leisure fascilities.
The consortium building the 298 apartments in Gallery Quay had originally planned to release only 60 of them yesterday.
However, a queue formed outside the marketing suite on the site long before it opened for business yesterday morning at 7.30.
When the first phase was sold within hours, it was decided to release the balance of the units. By 6 p.m. last night 200 of the apartments had been sold at an overall value of €90 million.
Joint agents Sherry FitzGerald New Homes and Hooke & MacDonald are to continue selling the remaining units this weekend. A separate block of 60 of the apartments has been set aside as social and affordable housing.
Mr Ross McParland of Sherry FitzGerald New Homes said about 40 apartments with views over Grand Canal Docks were first to sell even though there was a premium of €50,000 to €70,000 for waterfront locations.
A typical two-bedroom apartment with water views sold for between €460,000 and €480,000.
Also quick to sell were six penthouses costing from €825,000 to €1.25 million.
Mr Liam Carroll, who recently took control of Dunloe Ewart, was equally happy to have taken bookings for 90 of the 600 apartments he is about to build at The Gasworks opposite Barrow Street DART station.
Mr Carroll has opened a sales centre in Millennium Tower overlooking the docks where buyers are able to view the fit-out planned for a typical kitchen and bathroom in The Gasworks.
Prices ranged from €285,000 for one-bedroom units, and from €390,000 for two-bedroom homes.
Mr Ken MacDonald of Hooke and MacDonald said the enormous reaction to both developments stemmed from "the new interest in city living and the increasing frustration with traffic jams."
People who bought apartments would have the option of giving up their cars and using public transport including Barrow Street DART station, he pointed out.