Killiney houses on the move again

Home to some of the largest residential properties in Dublin, Killiney has long been the chosen address of many of the capital’s wealthiest and best-known residents. Since the economic downturn, the area’s popularity has faltered in comparison with prime inner city, in Dublin 4 and 6, and in recent times an unprecedented number of Killiney’s finest properties have come on the market.

Until now, many of the area’s most impressive estates, with two acres or more of land, have remained in their owners’ hands for decades, as they resisted the temptation to cash in during the hubris of the Celtic Tiger period. It is unsurprising then that local Killiney residents, trading up from already fine homes, have snapped up the two most recent mansions that came on the market.

One such family is moving from a Tudor-revival style home on Violet Hill, a quiet cul-de-sac off Killiney’s Church Road. Having previously extended this home from 507sq m (5,457sq ft) to 597sq m (6,427sq ft) with the help of Cantrell & Crowley architects, the owners now appear to be upsizing once again.

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Strathmore, Vico Road, Killiney is for sale for €8 million. Photograph: Eric Luke

Kilmarnock House, a few minutes away on Military Road, is a substantial 913sq m (9,827sq ft) semi-derelict mansion sitting on 3.1 acres with a dilapidated 1,290sq m (13,885sq ft) concrete extension attached. The family purchased the home after it came up for sale for €1.5 million in 2013. However with two entries on the property price register in respect of the house in August 2014 – the entries six days apart – for €2 million and €2.5 million, respectively, it is unclear how much was paid.

The new owners sought permission in December 2014 to demolish the adjoining modern structure and to refurbish the main house and coach houses, retaining Cantrell & Crowley as architects.

Ashurst

Next door, Ashurst, the one-time home of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, was also bought by a Killiney resident for €4,065,000 – considerably above its €3.5 million asking price. The buyer, a solicitor, currently lives in a 19th-century villa perched on Vico Road’s picturesque hillside, enjoying both Killiney’s best address and uninterrupted sea views.

While Ashurst may not offer the same vista, it still offers fine views, especially from the seven-storey high belfry tower installed by McQuaid, and is surrounded by 4.7 acres of gardens.

With architects Brazil Associates on board, the 904sq m (9,731sq ft) home is set to be refurbished throughout and extended to an impressive 1,026sq m (11,044sq ft). Following businessman Liam Smith’s 1996 acquisition of the house, it has already undergone a renovation said to have cost a seven-figure sum and the permission granted in July 2014 for this latest renovation is likely to fall into the same category due to the extensive renovations proposed and the scale of the property.

A new underfloor heating system will be installed, along with re-plumbing of the house, re-roofing and upgrading the windows.

The new floor plans feature magnificent interconnecting reception rooms and upstairs there are five bathrooms and seven bedrooms in total, including two luxurious master suites with en suite bathrooms and dressing rooms.

These two properties were launched on the market initially in 2013.

Two more of Killiney’s most important residences came to the market in 2014 and are both likely to undergo similar lavish refurbishments once sold.

Strathmore and St Columba’s

Strathmore, a 760sq m (8,181sq ft) mansion, is for sale for €8 million and features an astounding 9.03 acres of park-like grounds with significant frontage onto Vico Road. While the price renders it among the most expensive properties in the state, the house is undeniably one of Dublin’s most important residences and occupies what is most likely the largest single residential site in the Killiney and Dalkey area.

Killiney native and property developer Michael Roden traded an opulent residence on Ranelagh's Oakley Road along with a reported €3 million in cash in order to acquire Strathmore in 2008.

Prior to Roden’s acquisition, the property had been used as the Canadian ambassador’s residence from 1957 and new owners are likely to readapt the home to modern family living.

St Columba’s, home to the Marianist Community since the 1970s, is for sale at €3.65 million.

Located on Church Avenue, the 619sq m (6,663sq ft) main house is surrounded by 4.23 acres of rolling lawns and offers various ancillary accommodation in the form of a coach house and stables.

Prices

Recent prices achieved in the area are, generally speaking, below the prices sought at the turn of the century, when Killiney and Dalkey’s markets were booming.

Kilmarnock House, for example, was seeking €3.18 million (IR£2.5million) in 2001 and that same year Ashurst was considered by estate agents to be worth more than €6.35 million.

Kenah Hill, a renovated 929sq m (10,000sq ft) property with about three acres of land on Killiney’s St George’s Avenue, was seeking €10 million in 2000 – a price practically unheard of in Dublin’s suburban market today, excluding Dalkey’s plush Sorrento House.

Killiney's high-end market has experienced somewhat protracted sales periods considering the pick-up in pace seen elsewhere in south Dublin. While auction was previously the sale method of choice for top-end Killiney homes, most sellers are now opting for sales by private treaty, with the exception of two ultra-modern homes in 2013 – Paddock Wood, a Miami-style house on Killiney Hill Road, which was sold under the hammer for €4 million, and Hendre, on St George's Avenue, which sold for €2.2 million.

Other residences sold of late include Fernside, Killiney Hill Road, a 650sq m (6,997sq ft) Victorian home on about two acres, which sold in 2013 for €2.075 million, 72 per cent below its 2008 asking price of €7.5 million.

Eirene, a Thomas Deane designed home on Marino Avenue East, changed hands in late-2012 for €1.35 million, 77 per cent less than its 2008 asking price of €6 million.