Show apartments go on view for the first time today at a small block of 12 apartments off Mount Street Lower, a few paces from Merrion Square in Dublin 2. Prices start at £275,000 for the smallest
Selling agent Ross McParland expects the bulk of purchasers to be professionals looking for a city pad. The Grattan Court development is very private, tucked away down a narrow side street, and the sheer convenience of the location should be a major selling point.
Builders Jack Cosgrave and Brian Cullen of Jackson Properties have a proven record in the construction business, with Radcliffe Hall in Sandymount, and Whately Place in Kilmacud among their recent schemes. At Grattan Court, the use of redbrick, steel and glass gives a contemporary look to the four-storey block. The entire ground floor will be taken up with 3,000 sq ft of office space, with the apartments starting at first floor level. The residential entrance is a discreetly narrow door to the side of the building. There is a lift to all floors from a basement car-park. A staircase with a metal and mahogany bannister rail leads off the somewhat narrow main entrance hall. The two styles of two-bed apartments are distributed throughout the block, with two-bedroom penthouses on the third. Sizes vary among the units on the first and second floors, ranging from 641 sq ft to 801 sq ft. The larger units have wider hallways and more spacious open-plan living areas. All the sittingrooms in the block are south-facing.
A typical smaller-sized apartment priced from £275,000 has a fair-sized sitting/dining/kitchen with a wide box-bay window at the sitting end. Double doors to this area can open right back to include the hallway for entertaining. Kitchens have Alaskan white cupboards and white wall tiles with a wavy mosaic-tiled detail. The worktops have a natural wood look.
Most sittingrooms have flower balconies off. The main bedroom is double, with a wall of white-painted wardrobes, deep window-sill and an en suite shower room with a grey-blue colour theme. The second bedroom is a good single with fitted wardrobes. A long, curved hallway and extra storage space are some of the benefits of the larger apartments, which cost from £290,000 to £340,000. Bathrooms are larger and the living accommodation is more spacious. The sitting area has two huge windows and therefore extremely bright. This part of the room is L-shaped, forming a separate space which would make a quiet study nook.
A railed corner balcony large enough to sit out on is accessed through French doors and kitchen and bathroom fittings are white. There is a single bedroom with fitted wardrobes and a double room with an en suite shower.
Right at the top of the building with direct access to the roof garden are the two penthouses. These measure 759 sq ft and 786 sq ft and cost from £405,000. Curving ceiling lines and wall-to-wall windows provide very bright accommodation. A big storage cupboard off the hallway would take a scooter. The living space is open-plan, with a balcony wrapped around the sitting area and plenty of space to sit out. The kitchen has white units. Bedroom one has access to the balcony and a windowed en suite shower room. A second bedroom is a small double room.
The landscaped roof garden is accessible from all floors. From here, you can see Liberty Hall, the IFSC and across Dublin Bay to Clontarf. Annual service charges will be approximately £1,000.
