Out of print: Fresh chapter in life of former Glasnevin factory
FAIRFIELD COURT Glasnevin, Dublin 9 Asking price: €600,000-€850,000 Agent: Sherry FitzGerald (01) 837 3737
Well-heeled horticulturists may be interested in Fairfield Court, a new development at the Dublin 9 end of Glasnevin: the scheme is only three minutes’ walk from the National Botanic Gardens, home to more than 300 endangered species from around the world.
Much of modern-day Glasnevin, with its linear streets of respectable, redbrick houses, began to be built in the early 20th century and was more or less complete by 1930.
But the northside suburb’s biggest population is in Glasnevin Cemetery, where 1.6m people are buried. It is the resting place of Daniel O’Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Luke Kelly, and Brendan Behan. A gateway into the National Botanic Gardens from Glasnevin Cemetery reopened in recent years.
Fairfield Court is tucked away at the end of the eponymous Fairfield Road, a cul-de-sac that runs west of Botanic Road. At the end of Fairfield Road is a pedestrian shortcut to Griffith Park, making the park just a five-minute walk away. Developer Fairfield Court Property built the small scheme on the site of a former print factory that had lain derelict for many years.
The development comprises just six houses. Three of them are two-bed bungalows — each with large attics — and three are four-bed houses arranged across three floors. The selling agent expects the bungalows to attract both local downsizers, given the dearth of single-storey houses in the area, and first-time buyers. The four-bed houses are aimed at families seeking to trade up in Glasnevin.
The homes at Fairfield Court were designed to reflect the period houses in Glasnevin, so they are finished entirely in red brick and have glazing above and either side of a brightly coloured panelled front door. The four-bed styles have a front bay window and an arched porch to the front door. To the rear is a private south-facing garden, and there are two car-parking spaces for each home.
The cheapest two-bed bungalow costs from €600,000, measures 785 sq ft, and has a 279-sq ft attic. An 860-sq ft bungalow with a 430-sq ft attic is priced from €625,000, while the largest bungalow, which extends over 936 sq ft and has a 280-sq ft attic, costs from €650,000.
Inside, the bungalows have high ceilings and a full staircase leading to an attic room that has a Velux window. Downstairs, there is a bathroom and an open-plan kitchen/living/dining room.
The four-bed houses are priced from €825,000 to €850,000, with the latter commanding a higher price due to its larger living room. Inside each fourbed, there is a living room with a bay window, and there is kitchen-diner to the rear that has glazed doors that lead to a walled back garden. Off the kitchen is a utility room and a guest WC.
The first floor has a family bathroom and three bedrooms, one of which is ensuite. There is another ensuite bedroom on the attic level; this space has a front dormer window, with a Velux window to the ensuite.
Co Louth-based Sheelan Kitchens supplied the kitchens to all six houses. An air-to-water heating system at each of the A3-rated homes provides the underfloor heating to the ground floor and to the radiators on the other floors.
For family buyers, there are a number of popular schools within a few minutes’ walk of Fairfield Court. There are also shops, cafes, bars and restaurants in the nearby villages of Drumcondra and Phibsborough. The latter village was this week named as one of the top 40 coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Time Out magazine. The publication cited how it “combines old-school charm and contemporary buzz” and that “locals are spoilt for choice with an abundance of coffee shops, restaurants and pubs right on their doorstep”.
On foot, the top of O’Connell Street is 2.5k away, or half an hour’s walk, from Fairfield Court, and there is easy access to the IFSC, East Point Business Park, Dublin Airport, the Port Tunnel, DCU, and the M1 and M50 motorways.
Viewings at Fairfield Court are by appointment.