Let grass grow under your feet
Swords, Co Dublin
Asking price: From €290,000 Agent: Sherry FitzGerald New Homes (01) 667 1888
MILLERS Glen hit the headlines in 2014 when its launch saw the return of the boom-era spectre of prospective buyers camping overnight to secure first dibs on their house type of choice.
Many of those at the front of the queue were Swords natives keen to raise a family in the locality and to send their children to Swords Educate Together National School and Gaelscoil Bhrian Bóroimhe, two primary schools near Millers Glen.
Back then, the Swords development, located about 2km from the centre of the satellite town, was the first major new scheme in north Dublin in seven years.
Multiple sections have since been added to Millers Glen, including Fairbrook in 2015 and Longview in 2017.
Gannon Homes, the developer of Millers Glen, is building an entirely new development right next to the original site, situated off the Glen Ellan Road.
The sister development, a 186-unit scheme called Meadowbank, is launching this weekend, with the first phase consisting of 40 two, three and four-bed homes.
Prices will start at €295,000 for a twobed home measuring 926 sq ft.
However, these are so-called affordable homes that are only available to first-time buyers who qualify for a Government-backed Rebuilding Ireland mortgage from Fingal County Council. These home loans are offered to buyers who have been refused mortgages from traditional lenders, don’t qualify for social housing, and who earn a gross income of no more than €50,000 as a single applicant or €75,000 as joint applicants.
For standard buyers at Meadowbank, prices start at €345,000 for a three-bed house. Sizes of the three-bed townhouses range from 1,141 sq ft to 1,249 sq ft, while the three-bed semi-detached houses measure 1,259 sq ft.
There are two styles of four-beds available: the end-of-terrace design spans 1,453 sq ft and costs from €420,000, while the largest design — a 1,636-sq ft, three-storey, four-bed semi-detached style — is priced from €440,000.
The concrete-built family houses at Meadowbank are traditional in style, albeit with a contemporary edge, so they differ from the styles at Millers Glen.
Designed by Conroy Crowe Kelly Architects, the homes have a brick and render exterior finish, large box-bay windows off the front living room, and double-glazed UPVC windows and a composite front door from Grady Joinery. The good-sized back gardens are enclosed by concrete posts with timber panel fencing, and the private front driveways are finished in cobblelock and have elegant railings to the front at some styles.
At the heart of each house at Meadowbank is a fitted, contemporary-style, handle-less kitchen, supplied by QK Living.
The kitchens in the three-bed house types have a white finish with squared grey countertops, while there is a grey finish to the four-bed kitchens that is complemented by squared white countertops.
The bedroom wardrobes come from Cawleys Furniture’s Curragh Deluxe range, and most bathrooms have both a shower and a bath — an unusual touch in starter new-builds these days.
All the bathrooms and ensuites at Meadowbank come with sanitaryware, glazed shower doors, heated towel rails, and extensive wall and floor tiling. The houses are fully painted and have extra storage areas throughout.
The A3-rated properties are equipped with gas-fired central heating, as well as solar panels that provide a continuous supply of cheap hot water.
Residents will be able to shop at the Millers Glen Village Centre, which is now under construction about 200m away from Meadowbank and is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2019.
It will feature a supermarket and three other retail outlets.
A community playing pitch is also being developed right beside the Meadowbank showhouses.
The new development is just off the M1 motorway and close to the M50. A Swords Express bus stop is right outside Millers Glen, so commuters can reach the city centre in 40 minutes in light traffic.
The new show-complex at Meadowbank, which has been fitted out by interior designers Phoenix Design, will be open for viewings from 12pm to 2pm tomorrow and Sunday.