Penthouse with a big view - but no room for cooks

You can see the Aviva Stadium, the Dublin Wheel as well as Howth and the Dublin mountains from a docklands penthouse

A TWELFTH FLOOR penthouse, 74 Millenium Tower in Ringsend, Dublin 4, offers some of the best views in the city. The Zoe Developments block was built 10 years ago when the redevelopment of the Grand Canal Dock area was just a twinkle in Harry Crosbie’s eyes.

Grand Canal Dock has matured into a new quarter boasting cool outdoor art, a world-class theatre and numerous cafes and eateries. It feels vibrant by day, a little less so by night but very much desirable as a neighbourhood in which to live.

The three-bedroom apartment is on the market through docklands estate agent Owen Reilly, with an asking price of €695,000 – about a third of what it was valued at 18 months ago.

With 111sq m (1,195sq ft) of living space, it’s an interesting proposition. Firstly, it no longer has a kitchen. The current owner merged the original open-plan livingroom/diningroom/kitchen to create a third bedroom (it was originally a two-bed) with a wide-screen vista of the Sugarloaf, the Aviva stadium and the Dublin Mountains with Grand Canal Dock right below.

A bathroom now occupies the kitchen area. While impressive in size, the room still lacks suitable bedroom storage.

There is a school of thought that people who live in penthouses don’t cook – that all they use their kitchen for is to order and serve delivered food.

That’s city living New York style. In Dublin most homeowners want a place to plug in a kettle to make a brew no matter what their culinary ability is.

And this is where the propertys second living space comes into its own. Down a corridor is a room with floor-to-ceiling glazing on two sides so sunny that the owner has had to install an air conditioning unit. Installing a kitchen in this glass box would be easy.

French doors lead out to an L-shaped terrace with views that make the former livingroom/kitchen-turned-bedroom pale by comparison.

The panorama takes in Howth Head, the Dublin Wheel, Dublin port, the Ringsend towers, Sandymount Strand as well as those south county Dublin landmarks.

It is spectacular, utterly private and south-facing to boot. At night the city lights provides ambient lighting while the pulse of the Baily Lighthouse punctuates the night sky.

The other two double bedrooms are average. One has a balcony that overlooks the Grand Canal Theatre. Both have fitted wardrobes. A small and basic bathroom serves both of these. One of these could very easily become an office space for a corporate buyer.

At present the decor and furnishings belie the potential this property has to become a super slick space. A superficial paint and furnishings job would transform its look and feel.

As a bachelor or bachelorette pad, number 74 is a compelling offer. The penthouse partially above it – Millennium Tower has stepped roofs – is also for sale. (There is, however, nothing above the livingroom of number 74, which is like an atrium.)

Knocking these two into one super-spacious pad is a wildly extravagant option – fantastic but only for the seriously solvent.

The property comes with private parking.

74 Millennium Tower, Charlotte Quay Dock, Dublin 4

Three-bedroom penthouse apartment with panoramic views over Dublin on 12th floor of apartment block in Grand Canal Dock area. the asking price is €695,000. It has no kitchen

Agent:Owen Reilly