€2m for towering view of the city

THE first exclusive previews of the country’s tallest apartment building, Cork’s €150 million-plus The Elysian, took place yesterday.

In advance of the 83-metre tall building’s formal September 17 launch, dozens of invited viewers and targeted buyers were given price lists, dated September 4, for 70 of the Elysian’s 212 units.

They revealed prices ranging from €375,000 to €2m.

The apartments on offer span from one-bed apartments of 690sq ft with one basement car parking spot, to the very top unit, a 3,300sq ft three-bedroomed ‘triplex’ spread over levels 15, 16 and 17 — literally defined as the height of luxury.

Selling agents Sherry FitzGerald wouldn’t comment on the prices listed, and a spokesperson for developers O’Flynn Construction said the prices “are embargoed to the media and should not be quoted”.

Previews are continuing until September 16, with an official September 17 launch party planned. The main structure is more than 70m high to the top of the stainless steel shroud.

There are at least eight penthouse apartments in the first batch of 71 apartments which are priced over the €1m level. They are the largest apartments ever built in Cork — and among the largest anywhere in the country — and these €1m to €2m options go from 2,600sq ft to 3,200sq ft, with the €2m triplex punching in at a sprawling 3,304sq ft, including internal spiral staircases, a winter garden and a roof terrace.

One of the half dozen show apartments has a kitchen designed by Porsche, valued at €100,000, and in general all the apartments being offered have the highest available specification, with built-in TVs, Smart wiring, high-spec ovens and wine chill cabinets.

Two-bedroomed apartments, generally considered to be the staple of the market sector, start from €495,000 for single aspect two-beds of 1,050sq ft, rising to €690,000 for 1,530sq ft double-aspect ones, with views into the internal landscaped courtyard.

All the cited prices were said to be inclusive of parking spaces, valued at €50,000 each.

Management charges were given at €3 per square foot, so that annual charges may run from about €2,000 up to €10,000 for the very largest, which include gym use and other amenities, as well as a 24-hour concierge service. The management company will be run by O’Flynn Construction, and construction was by PJ Hegarty, with design by Wilson Architecture.

The Elysian’s launch will be keenly watched by the property sector. The scheme has been developed by O’Flynn Construction on a three-acre site next door to Cork’s City Hall.

The Wilson Architecture design includes one-acre raised landscaped garden, with copper arch sculpture, mature trees and water tumbling over limestone slabs sourced from Liscannor.