Concrete evidence of rise in apartments

ONE of the most visible signs of the urbanisation of Ireland must surely be the huge number of apartments that are being provided in our cities and towns.

No matter where you look, concrete and glass towers are rising up — containing a mixture of retail or office space and apartments — of the variety we associated with huge cosmopolitan cities until some years ago.

While many Irish country people still prefer to live in one-off rural houses, growing numbers of their city cousins, especially young professionals, are opting for an apartment lifestyle often located close to the inner city.

In 2004, three times as many apartments as houses were built in Dublin’s inner city and inner suburbs, while apartments accounted for over 25% of housing built in that year in the suburban Fingal. Cork, Galway and Limerick cities are following a similar pattern, while in towns such as Kinsale, Tralee and Killarney, apartments have also become a dominant feature of housing stock. In Killarney, many of the old, cobble-stoned lanes are now taken up by apartments — built under generous tax incentives as part of an urban renewal programme in the 1990’s — though not to everyone’s approval.

Killarney’s thriving tourism market and the accommodation needs of a large immigrant population also create an extra demand for apartments, and opportunities for investors.

Jim Connolly, national secretary of the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Association, has strongly criticised what he describes as a “‘rash of apartment building”, while claiming that obstacles are being put in the way of people that wish to live in rural areas. “There’s a mad rush in every town to force people into apartments and this is being promoted at all levels,’’ he said. Speaking in Dingle recently, Mr Connolly claimed that policy-makers and planners don’t care about rural Ireland and are forcing country people into towns and cities.

“It’s a heart-breaking scene. There are communities dying for want of people and our country is gone stark, raving mad. It’s gone out of control. People have lost control.”

The arguments against rampant, one-off rural housing are well-known but, we don’t hear as much said about the negative aspects of apartments.

Apartments pack people into comparatively confined spaces in densely-populated areas; usually don’t have enough family space or room in which children can play; can generate more urban traffic and can lead to social problems and create ghettos, not to mention dereliction arising from neglect and lack of management.

The history of corporation-owned apartments, which were built in less prosperous areas is peppered with examples of how badly things can go wrong. The trend began to change from the 1970s onwards, leaning towards private apartment complexes in desirable residential areas.

Up to that time, apartment living was largely confined to flat complexes, often in city centres.

With the economic boom that began in the 1990s came more significant change in housing.

This was brought about by a variety of factors: people were better off financially, the population was expanding and there was a trend towards smaller households, especially those occupied by just one person. Because of the need for urban regeneration, the building of residential accommodation in or close to city centres was welcomed by councils and corporations.

Generous tax incentives were offered to developers to build in designated areas, and renting an apartment became a popular option for upwardly-mobile, young people.

But, according to surveys conducted 12 to 15 years ago, they regarded apartment living as a temporary arrangement during their carefree single days, before they settled in suburbia.

A study undertaken in 1994 of new-age, apartment dwellers in Dublin showed that 74% of respondents had a degree or professional qualification, with 95% saying they expected to move within two years. A great many did move and were quickly replaced. A trend was being set whereby it was again fashionable for better-off people to live in the inner city, with all the conveniences that brings.

Today, it is considered quite normal to live in an apartment in Ireland. The fact that apartments are generally cheaper than houses is obviously a key factor in their popularity. For many people aspiring to live in our cities, however, the high cost of home ownership puts the purchase of a suburban house beyond reach. As long as house prices rise faster than incomes, the goal of home ownership — so ingrained in the Irish psyche — will become more difficult to attain. Long-term or lifetime renting looks like becoming a reality for a growing number of people.