Death of the semi D

In the 1960s, if you were moneyed and “with it” you’d have wanted to live in zone of the cool modern schemes springing up in the well-to-do southside suburbs of Ballsbridge, Milltown, Sandymount and Blackrock, Mount Merrion, Terenure and Rathgar.

These were as big if not bigger than the average family home — three bedrooms, two receptions and often two parking spaces — ideal for retiring cityphiles who wanted a secure home without a garden within spitting distance of the FitzWilliam Lawn Tennis club.

They proved popular until the mid-1970s, when their construction dried up.

Now, with most sites between the canals filled, apartment-developers have taken their work further afield to offer larger homes in areas where the semi has hitherto dominated.

At Temple Court in Santry Demesne, Dublin 9, after months of successful selling, they’re ready to release the largest homes — three three-bedroom luxury penthouses. The apartments are as large as a house, measuring roughly 1,300 sq ft, and are priced at €510,000, €555,000 and €575,000 depending on the view. The apartments have extra-high ceilings, balconies and roof gardens, and two designated parking spaces are included.

On the west side sits one of Dublin’s largest examples of the new suburban apartment scheme, Park West Pointe at Park West, which launches its Academy building this weekend.

The Park West Pointe project won the Opus building of the year award in 2000, so buyers can be optimistic that its high-density design is better thought-out than the ill-fated Ballymun towers, now on demolition row. Half of the buildings’ 161 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments go on sale off-plan this weekend.

The building has underground car parking and a central courtyard, while the units are wired up for ISDN and have modern down-lighting.

One-bedroom apartments of 554 sq ft range from €199,995 to €215,995, two-bedroom apartments (from 657 to 926 sq ft) range from €232,995 to €284,995. Three-bed apartments ranging from 1,168 sq ft to 1,636 sq ft are priced between €382,500 and €425,000.

St Canice’s Square is a development of 43 apartments laid out over two blocks in Finglas, Dublin 11. Designed by Laughton Tyler, the architects responsible for the Steelworks and the Distillery Lofts, the one- and two-bedroom apartments come with high-spec kitchens and bathrooms and are set in landscaped gardens. Secure underground parking is included. One-bedroom apartments of 485 sq ft are priced from €230,000 while the two-bedroom apartments are a good-sized 720 sq ft and cost from €260,000. The price bracket means that first-time buyers are expected to take notice.

“We expect mainly first-time buyers and investors, particularly the one-beds as they fit that price bracket, although both types of apartment are likely to sell very well,” says MacMahon Dillon.

A management company will shortly be assigned to the complex, with annual fees expected to be in the region of €1,000. High-spec one- and two-bedroom penthouses will also go on sale in the autumn.

In the more remote suburbs of Lusk, Co Dublin, is Gleann Ribh, a development of 56 units. The scheme is in the village of Lusk, and is a mix of two- and three-bedroom apartments, duplexes and town houses. Upstairs apartments have balconies, while ground-floor apartments have access to communal gardens. The two-bedroom apartments of 739 sq ft cost from €265,000, the two-bedroom duplexes of 888 sq ft are priced from €275,000.

The three-bedroom duplex apartment of 920 sq ft — the size of the average three-bedroom semi — starts at €285,000. Another Allen & Townsend project, MacMahon Dillon says the agents held a “pre-launch launch” in response to overwhelming interest.

“The demand has been so high because it differs from all other developments in Lusk, which in the past few years have had a minimum of 200 to 300 units. This one only has 56 and buyers love that. It’s easier to get resale value on a smaller development too,” says MacMahon Dillon.

So does this mean the end for the new semi-D? Sean Dixon of Douglas Newman Good says young couples increasingly gravitate towards the new duplex.

“The three-bed duplex apartment is replacing the semi-D. First-time buyers who would have naturally gone for the three-bed semi two years ago are now looking at the duplex,” says Dixon.

If the new-found allure of apartment chic and Dublin’s tight planning issues continue, buyers in the future may not have a choice.

Interest in Gleann Ribh, she says, was from first-time buyers and people trading down, and a number of bookings were taken at the mid-week pre-launch.

“We’ve had quite a few mature couples interested in trading down, who might have had children and a four-bed bungalow in Lusk needing a new kitchen and bathroom. They are attracted to a two-bed apartment with a nice new kitchen and bathroom in a small, safe development. The three-bed duplexes, meanwhile, will attract first-time buyers — young couples who want some space and enjoy the high-spec features,” says MacMahon Dillon.

Although we are catching up in the numbers of apartments we build, it may be a while longer before apartments will attract families, which are necessary to achieve the balance that can help apartment schemes to function successfully.

n St Canice’s Square, Finglas, Dublin 11 and Gleann Ribh, Lusk, Co Dublin, for sale through Allen & Townsend, 01 676 5630; The Academy Building at Park West Pointe, Park West, Dublin 12 for sale through Sherry Fitzgerald New Homes, 01 667 1888; Temple Court, Northwood, Santry Demesne, Dublin 9, for sale through Douglas Newman Good, 01 491 2600