Modern comforts in Sandycove

After more than a decade during which a prime corner site at Elton Park, Sandycove, Co Dublin lay idle and overgrown, a newly built house on a portion of the half-acre site is finally for sale. Torca, a five bedroom detached house with 371sq m (3,993sq ft), is being auctioned by Lisney on November 13th with an AMV of €1.8 million.

Several attempts were made to develop the site after the house on it was demolished, with plans for a 15-apartment building being the option with the highest density. That didn’t happen and the site, which came with planning permission for four large detached houses, was sold at auction last November for €2.2 million.

Auction

In an unusual move, rather than seeking to increase the density, those plans were slimmed down. Just three detached houses will be built on the site. Two are now finished – a quick turnaround on the site – with this one now for sale.

The house is going to auction which is unusal in the new homes market. At €1.8 million this is the most expensive recently finished new build to hit the market in south Dublin. It is competing in that price range with several period houses so it will be interesting to see if the auction strategy works.

The plus for the developer will be a completed sale before Christmas; for a buyer, it will be getting a large family house that is in walk-in condition, carpeted, painted and complete with appliances, finished from the stone floor tiles in the hall to the solar panels on the roof.

Reception rooms

Torca’s style is traditional so it blends in with the substantial family houses on the road. It is double-fronted and has reception rooms on either side of the hall. Both rooms have bay windows, wide plank oak effect tiled floor with underfloor heating and gas fires.

Families will probably spend most of their time at the back of the house in the large, bright and airy L-shaped open space. It incorporates the kitchen, a living space with a gas fire and a dining area, again with underfloor heating. The Rhatigan & Hick handpainted units include a marble-topped island. All appliances are supplied.

Off the kitchen with access to a side passage is a utility room with storage. There is also a door on the other side of the house, which opens into a boiler room off the hall.

Top floor

Upstairs all five bedrooms are doubles, with one having a large walk-in wardrobe; three have en suites. There is also a good-sized family bathroom. All bathrooms and en suites are smartly designed, fully tiled and fitted with contemporary style sanitary ware. The fifth bedroom is at the top of the house, where there is also a home office, a games room and a bathroom. The gardens have been landscaped and there is off-street parking for two cars in the front garden which is behind electric gates.