Building ongoing at Lisheen Fields

New phase of Ovens development from O’Callaghan Properties for sale, Tommy Barker reports.

THEY’VE 6,800 houses and apartments built to date — and they’re not finished yet. Developers O’Callaghan Properties are best known for daring projects like Dublin’s Liffey Valley and Cork’s Opera Lane and Mahon Point among a myriad of other shopping centre schemes, but their housing output has carried on since the late 1960s.

And, right now, they are among the small handful of Cork developers - such as Ruden Homes and Astra Construction - who are still actively building houses on good sites in the greater Cork area.

Volume of output might be down now, and it will be a while before the next thousand-home mark is hit, but the company OCP is building, and selling, new houses at its Lisheen Fields scheme just west of Ballincollig.

According to company director Aidan Lucey, about 25 houses were sold here last year “and buyer interest is surprisingly strong”.

OCP’s current phase at Lisheen Fields is of four bed, two-storey 1,500 sq ft houses. Energy efficiency levels are high, at a very decent B1 BER level, down to things like quality timber frame construction via Macroom Co Cork-based Cygnum, and solar panels for water heating etc. Helping to bed down the entire scheme of 34 homes so far is landscaping by Cameron Kiernan, and Lisheen Fields (which will total 150 houses in all,) is as readily accessible from the old Ballincollig town road or the new bypass.

Selling agents are Property Partners O’Mahony Walsh who record about 15 visits to the Lisheen showhouse near the thriving EMC plant in Ovens which, along with associated companies, employ thousands in the city’s western suburbs.

OCP’s director Aidan Lucey notes “there will be continuing demand for these houses, on offer for €300,000, as they’re built to a very high specification and will be of interest to all potential purchasers, including first-time buyers who can claim generous tax relief for seven years, provided they buy in 2012.”

Mr Lucey adds: “We notice that some people who decided to rent properties last year are now coming back to view, which is a good sign of keener interest. Lisheen has a regular bus service and very good shopping facilities, a medical centre and a creche just across the road. It is close to Ballincollig with all its shopping and other facilities and near our completed Classes Lake development which is completely sold.”

VERDICT: The local economy is thriving, gratis of EMC, so housing is needed.