DUN Laoghaire has experienced a renaissance in recent years which has transformed this once-faded ferry port into one of the most interesting places to live on the east coast. New apartment and office blocks resembling huge ocean liners along the sea-front are attracting big money and property values all over town have risen in their wake. Much under-rated in the recession of the 1970s and 1980s, the town has acquired the look of a place on the way up.
Dun Laoghaire is a tightly-knit area - very much a town - stretching from the West Pier in Monkstown to the edges of Glasthule and inland towards Glenageary and Mounttown. It ranks among the great seafaring towns, rivalling Fremantle and Mombasa in character and appeal.
While Irish towns have traditionally turned their backs to the sea, a renewed interest in properties with sea views has contributed to Dun Laoghaire's meteoric upturn. There is a sense of things happening in the town. The new Bloomfield Shopping Centre has shifted the focus of the town northwards and revitalised an area that was lacking in amenities. A 12-screen cinema has just opened and a multi-storey car-park in Library Road is encouraging people to use this end of un Laoghaire the town more. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's integrated action plan is at the centre of the refurbishment of the town. There are plans to re-direct traffic on George's Street and to give priority to pedestrians. A streetscape is planned with planting and public seating areas. The introduction of disc parking on roads leading off the main street should cut down on motorists leaving cars there all day. The old shopping centre recently changed hands and a revamp could be on the cards, says the council. On the seafront, the new Pavilion centre is progressing and the unfinished site is decorated for Christmas. The town's Christmas tree has been erected on the new civic plaza by Dun Laoghaire Chamber of Commerce which collected £24,000 in donations from traders to make a splash this year.
The Pavilion apartments - due for completion next summer - start at £230,000 for a one-bedroom unit with penthouses selling for £1 million-plus - the most expensive property in the town. There will be a theatre run by the council, a fitness centre and a number of shops, pubs and restaurants. Freda Hayes plans to open a Meadows & Byrne home-wear store and publican Hugh O'Regan, of Pravda, will establish a pub/trattoria on two levels. The seafront is where most of the changes are occurring. The four yacht clubs between the east and west piers add hugely to the maritime character of Dun Laoghaire and are a valuable leisure resource. Construction of the new marina at the former marshalling yard has been put out to tender by the Harbour company. This will create a third walkway. Residents are disquieted at the increasing privatisation of the marine area - a precious amenity the town is in danger of losing in the current boom. There is now no seafront coffee shop (remember Ursula's?) apart from the People's Park tearoom, which is a long walk for senior citizens. And there is a dwindling amount of space to enjoy the sea views.
The East Pier walk is famous for Sunday afternoon walks and on wild winter days it is a bracing stroll. Across the harbour the Carlisle pier (the old mailboat pier) has been given tax designation to encourage redevelopment. There is no proposal so far for this area, but according to senior planner Ciaran Tracey, "mixed use" will be encouraged. The Chamber of Commerce is anxious to promote the seafront as a tourist area and would like to see a traders' wharf-style retail development here in preference to apartments. The old Dun Laoghaire baths at the southern end of the harbour are sadly neglected and an eyesore. The council has not come up with an alternative use and has designated it for tax relief.
The jewel in Dun Laoghaire's crown is its abundance of period houses. The streets running down to the harbour and the elegant squares between George's Street and Glenageary are lined with tall stucco houses, many of which were in flats for most of this century and had fallen into disrepair. Clarinda Park, Crosthwaite Park and Royal Terrace are now coming back into one-family use.
AGENTS say these houses have the greatest potential, considering that their cousins down the road in Monkstown are making £700,000-plus. A new benchmark for prices in this area was reached last June when a house on Royal Terrace West was sold by Hamilton Osborne King (HOK) for £540,000. Lisney sold another on Royal Terrace for £535,000.
HOK realised a strong price of £520,000 for a house on Clarinda Park which had changed hands in 1995 for £134,000. Sherry FitzGerald sold a house in five units on Clarinda Park last March for £380,000. The market has moved on since and this would achieve up to £450,000 today. Lisney recently sold two houses on Clarinda Park East each for around £440,000. In 1995, these were going for under £200,000.
On the seafront side of George's Street, many of the period houses have commercial zoning and are a good buy for this reason. Sherry FitzGerald this year sold a house on Haigh Terrace, close to the Maritime Museum, at the beginning of the year for "the £450,000 mark".
At the lower end of the price scale are artisan type cottages off Patrick Street, on Library Road and off Lower George's Street. Gunne residential sold a two-up-two-down on Northcote Avenue this year for £182,000. A similar one fetched £130,000 two years ago. Gunne also recently sold three terraced houses on Smyths Villas, off York Road, for between £122,000 and £140,000. Two years ago these could be bought for under £70,000.
Another popular first-time buyers' area is in Glasthule, where tiny cottages around Coldwell and Findlater Streets have rocketed in price in the past year or so. A quaint one-bedroom pad here with a miniscule yard will set you back £130,000. The Peter Lawlor agency sold a terraced house at Eden Villas in June for £135,500 - a steal at this price, they say. A mix of modern 1930s and 1950s houses and elegant Edwardian terraced houses are found opposite the Peoples' Park on Rosmeen Park. Lisney sold 7 Rosmeen Gardens for £455,000 in the autumn and Number 26 for £335,000 last spring. On Lower Glenageary Road, 1930s terraced houses with good gardens sell for around £200,000. Number 10 Glenageary Terrace is currently for sale with Sherry FitzGerald, asking £220,000.
Trendy first-time buyers are moving into Monkstown Farm at the back end of the town where ex-corporation houses regularly come on the market. Douglas Newman Good says while prices havge "rocketed up" they are still good value at under £150,000.
