Pembroke Road is one of Dublin 4’s best addresses. It is a short stroll to the cafes and restaurants of Baggot Street Upper and, two bridges’ walk in either direction along the Grand Canal will take you to Dart and Luas links. Prices reflect this, and the fact that there are few three-bedroom apartments available for sale in the area.
Next door to this apartment is a newly built, A-rated penthouse in developer Damien Tansey’s 19 Pembroke. That 86sq m /925 sq ft two-bed with a huge balcony and great views came to market earlier this year asking €1.1million. At the end of the road is Lansdowne Place where a three-bed, A-rated apartment of 177sq m/1,905 sq ft is seeking €2.15m through agent SherryFitzGerald.
Number 43 and 44 Arranmore is a far more modest-looking proposition. Housed within an over-55s active retirement development, it is a top-floor apartment – formerly two units – with plenty of entertainment space and extending to 155sq m/1,668sq ft.
Seeking €595,000 through agent SherryFitzGerald there is no outside space but the two large interconnecting reception rooms have Adams-style fireplaces and overlook the fine manicured southwest-facing gardens to the rear of the building. There is also a small butler’s kitchen off one of the rooms.
Two of the three bedrooms have velux roof lights instead of windows – these are to the front, facing the road. One has a large internal en suite.
The kitchen is small, compared to the available reception room space and there are three bathrooms that could all do with an upgrade. However a little investment and a rework of the current layout could create a pretty spectacular home for a reasonable, price compared with other offerings in the area. But you do need to be aged over 55, and those with children or pets need not apply.
Shared facilities within the building include a morning room, with adjoining kitchen, and a separate laundry room with several washing machines, driers and ironing boards, as well as outdoor lines screened from view where you can hang bulky items.
The corridors feel like a basic apartment block or hotel, and the doors probably don’t conform to wheelchair access regulations, but there are lifts at each end and there is even a guest suite in the next-door unit.
The entire apartment is the combined space of a one-bed and two-bed flat and offers light and space in abundance, as well as communal facilities. There is a newly installed covered barbecue area in the garden.
The service charge is high at around €7,000 and this doesn’t include heating. Most of the furniture and furnishings within the unit have by now been removed, which makes for slightly bleak viewing. But if you can see past that, this apartment is a bit of a diamond in the rough, it just needs a bit more investment to really give it polish.
