Galway Houses from £180,000

Bookings are being taken from tomorrow for the first phase of what promises to be a lavish development of houses and apartments overlooking the coast at Salthill in Galway city. O'Malley Construction, one of the largest house-builders in the country, has already begun work on the first part of the £45 million scheme which will have 50 townhouses and 58 duplex units.

The second phase of 12 five bedroom detached homes and 56 two- and three-bedrooms and penthouses are due to be released for sale next September. Two-bedroom duplex units now going on the market will have 840 sq. ft and will cost from £180,000 while three-bedroom duplex homes will have over 1,000 sq. ft and will be priced from £215,000. There will be six different types of townhouses, the smallest a two bedroom unit with 742 sq. ft costing from £190,000. For families needing extra space, there will be attractive four-bedroom mid-terrace and end-of-terrace townhouses with between 1,222 and 1,345 sq. ft. These will be priced mainly between £270,000 and £285,000. O'Malleys will be handling sales from their Galway office at 091-509970.

O'Malley Construction has already logged several hundred inquiries for the Dun Na Carraige development on the Salthill site. It is one of the last tracts of development land between Salthill and Barna where the houses are among the most expensive in the West of Ireland. The 15-acre site has uninterrupted views over the adjoining Galway golf course, as well as Galway Bay. It is also within sight of the Salthill promenade, a favourite walking area all the year round. The inquiries to date suggest that most of the new homes will probably be bought by owner-occupiers, according to Helen Casserley of O'Malley Construction. The quality of the site and its proximity to all local services is likely to prove a strong selling point.

The layout of the development will be enhanced by the natural contours of the site. Mature trees are to be retained where feasible and additional planting provided to give the development immediate maturity. Galway architects HGL O'Connor have devised an interesting variety of homes with an emphasis on space and light, formality and elegance. O'Malley Construction has always prided itself on its fit-out and the Salthill scheme will be no exception. Standard features will include en suite shower rooms with most units, double glazing, high quality sanitary ware, oil-fired central heating in townhouses and Gold Shield heating in duplex units. There will also be adequate car parking on site.

The development will fill most of the grounds of Blackrock House, a mid-19th century mansion which has been used for over two decades by the Galway County Association of the Mentally Handicapped. O'Malleys are to refurbish the large house for the association.