Room to grow in suburbs
Luxury development of three homes will appeal to families with teenagers needing extra space
YOUTUBE footage of Santry in the 1960s shows a neighbourhood on the brink of a transition, an agricultural hub with pasture and tillage gradually becoming a suburb of Dublin city. Farmers on a horse and trap or tractor share the road with Morris Minors, passing fields, new housing estates, and factories such as the now-closed Brother sewing machine plant.
From the 1940s onwards, this patch of countryside sandwiched between Whitehall, Beaumont, Glasnevin and Ballymun saw the arrival of semi-detached homes to house the capital’s young families. On the neighbourhood’s Swords Road, most of these semi-ds measured 1,100 sq ft at most. The semi-ds that make up a new luxury development at 290 Swords Road are much larger, with 1,500 sq ft of internal space and 60ft-long back gardens, a rarity among Dublin new builds.
The enclave of three, four-bed houses, which will go on the market tomorrow week, was built on the site of a bungalow on the Swords Road that lay vacant for 12 years.
It was developed by Castleknock-based Leading Homes, the company behind the seven-unit Colmkille’s Mews in Ballycullen.
Prices at 290 Swords Road start at €595,000 for one semi-detached property, €615,000 for the second semi-d — a fully-fitted showhouse — and at €625,000 for the detached four-bed.
According to the selling agent, most of the interest in the scheme to date has come from would-be downsizers from Glasnevin and Drumcondra or families from Swords with teenagers who are drawn to the fact that the houses have four double bedrooms rather than the de rigueur master en suite, one double and two box rooms common in many new residential developments. The location of 290 Swords road, between Dublin Airport and central Dublin, also appeals to buyers living in the area. The exterior of each house in the scheme is finished with limestone to the windowsills and string detail, monocouche render, and silver-framed double-glazed future-proof windows from Munster Joinery.
There is a cobble-lock driveway with space for two cars to the front of each property and a side-gate leads to the rear landscaped garden and a 10-sq ft patio that spans the full width of the house.
On the ground floor of the contemporary-style properties, the cut-string stairwell is in the middle of the house rather than to the side, and there is laminate flooring and shaker-style doors throughout.
The living room has four-pane windows, while the dining space in the open-plan kitchen/diner has floor-to-ceiling glass panels and patio doors. The fitted kitchen comes with silestone countertops, a timber finish inset, and a breakfast bar. Upstairs, all the bedrooms have bespoke wardrobes and carpeting.
The homes at 290 Swords Road were designed to have an A3 energy rating. Each one is fitted with an A-rated Panasonic air-source heat pump heating system with a three-zone control, as well as a centralised extract ventilation system.
The enclave is close to the Omni Park Shopping Centre. The city centre is about 6km away, while in the opposite direction, Dublin Airport is 4km away.
Viewings of the showhouse will take place between 12pm and 1:30pm on Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24.