Living over the shop is nothing new. It's a concept that has caught the imagination of tenants renting property in Dublin's city centre - to judge by the Temple Bar experience - though right beside the shop is more to the point with the launch of a new block of apartments beside the Jervis Centre, in Dublin 1.
Jervis Park is a scheme of 16 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for rent in the old Jervis Street Hospital. Built by Sandyville Properties Ltd it is the last piece of the jigsaw marking the transformation of the Jervis Street site. Integrated into the original facade of the hospital the apartments have high ceilings and thick walls which provide good sound-proofing. The apartments are being retained by the developers as rental investments. They are modern in concept and are either duplex or loft-style with free-standing furniture so tenants can create their own look. Three are unfurnished, which is unusual in the apartment rental market. Apart from appealing to the minimalist, they should also appeal to people bringing their own furniture or wanting to buy furniture for themselves. The show apartment was decorated by Debenhams and KA International, two stores based in the Jervis Centre.
The one-bedroom apartments will rent out at £650 a month, while the two-bedroom apartments will cost £850 a month, both based on one-year renewable leases. Hamilton Osborne King is handling the lettings. As the apartments are owned by a company, rather than by private individuals, the tenants benefit from increased security of tenure. Traditionally, developers built apartments and sold them on to investors or owner-occupiers, but some are now building strictly for the rental market. A recent development along the same lines was Beaumont Woods, in Beaumont. Amanda Brogan, of Hamilton Osborne King, says this marks a significant change in the rental market. "It certainly represents confidence in the future of the rental market. It is an indication of future trends for rental properties." Greater long-term security of tenure is normally assured when renting through a property company rather than an individual landlord. "Private individuals letting apartments may have a change in their personal circumstances which requires them to sell. In contrast, the fact that these apartments are owned by a company should ensure that the tenant will not be forced to move out at the end of their lease term," she says. "Inevitably, there will be rent renewals but once the tenants pay their rent and observe the terms of their lease, they should be able to consider the apartment as home rather than just a convenient base," she adds.
Style counts for a lot in this development, which you enter through the original oak door of the hospital with its impressive fanlight window. The lobby has been transformed with a marble-effect floor and lift to all four floors. The apartments range in size from 630 sq ft to 785 sq ft and have been finished to a high standard. They are built within the original facade of the old hospital with original windows intact, running to 16 ft and flooding the apartments with natural light.
The finish is impressive with polished wooden floors throughout and limed pine furniture units. All the apartments look out over the green park in Jervis Street, due to be redesigned as a continental-style piazza area. There are good views from the upper floors of the city centre over to the Dublin mountains. The two-bedroom duplex units are on two levels with an entrance hall and lavatory as well as a spacious livingroom-cum-dining room. Off this is a compact kitchen with Shaker-style units and essential appliances with a blue and white tiled splash-back and terracotta floor tiles.
A wooden staircase in teak leads upstairs to two bedrooms, a double and a single, each with sloping windows. A large bathroom is also at this level, and is finished in white tiles. The furniture throughout is of limed pine.
The one-bedroom units are loft-style with an entrance lobby leading to a livingroom-and-kitchen arrangement similar to that in the two-bed units. Here it differs with a mezzanine level overhead and a 16-ft high window covering both floor areas. The mezzanine is reached by stairs and is bright and cleverly-designed. A walk-in hot press is also at this level.
Amanda Brogan expects the apartments will appeal to young professionals who want to be close to work and leisure activities. She expects they will interest people working in the likes of the Irish Financial Services Centre.
The rental market is currently boosted by numbers of young people unable to buy their first home and keen to rent in the meantime. The market is also possibly going to be flagged by older people keen to liquidate some of the equity in their expensive homes and willing to rent.
No car-parking facilities are included and the Jervis Street Centre park is closed in the evenings. But there are a lot of spaces to rent in the area. A number of spaces were recently bought by investors, at Stuart Hall and Capel Court, who intend to rent them out according to HOK.
