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Modern Georgian to showcase Ireland’s all-new auction concept, writes Mark Keenan
BACK in 2001, a Celtic-Tiger era scheme made headlines for re-imagining the Georgian residential square, which so deeply characterised Dublin from the mid-18th century onwards. Edward Square off Morehampton Road recognised the design value of stacking residences to four floors and tight together as terraces arrayed in a square. It allowed the largest number of substantial homes with own-door, street-level entrances to fit into a restricted site while also permitting the creation of a good deal of valuable, shared green space.
In a time when land prices were soaring in Dublin and housing supply in soughtafter areas was tightening, the inspired reinvention by architects Douglas Wallace proved a winner, albeit with the addition of elevators to get up and down those stacked floors.
Ireland’s Georgian Square for the new millennium was named Edward Square, not after English royalty, aristocracy or empire heroes, but after the development company, Gerry Barrett’s Edward Holdings. It would be 2004, near the pinnacle of the madness, before the €150m development was launched, with its 4,000 sq ft city homes. It made headlines again when it appeared to sell out in two days, with properties selling for up to €4.5m.
Now a home at Edward Square is to spearhead an attempt to completely overhaul the Irish property auction system.
Recently we saw the reconfiguration of Allsop Space (known for selling 200 properties at a time in attendance auctions frequented by thousands) into the new brand BidX1. The latter is now taking its mass auction concept online only.
Later this month, on September 27 and 28, BidX1 will auction over 300 lots online totalling more than €60m on reserve. The jewel in the residential crown is Number 10 Edward Square, a five-bedroom home comprising a basement, ground floor and three floors overhead in the concept Dublin 4 scheme.
Number 10, which stretches to 4,300 sq ft, has a reserved price of €2.3m and, alongside some of the other high-end abodes, will test whether or not online only mass auctions can work in Ireland when it comes to luxury home sales.
The auction will also test prices on Edward Square — the last recorded sales here took place two years ago in 2015 when a clutch of homes sold for around €1.4m, while number 9 adjoin- ing, changed hands in that year for €1.8m. Recently Lisney sold No9 again after advertising the property at €2.75m. It’s a slightly smaller home than number 10 but the deal has yet to appear on the property register.
Number 10 is Lot 35 and from the top comprises a third-floor living room which could also be an apartment; two floors in the middle, each containing two bedrooms and an ensuite each, an entrance level with a hall, two interlinking receptions and a huge garden level with an open plan kitchen/living area, a family room, a courtyard and a garage. There’s a lift and a 70 foot long rear garden, just as the Georgians had.
Features include substantial terrace spaces, marble bathroom tiling, a kitchen by Boffi with Gagganeau appliances, a home cinema and staircase with bronze balustrades. The address speaks for itself.