The best of everything found at Lisin

Tommy Barker profiles a development of attractive new apartments.

CHALK and cheese sit cheek to jowl at Cork's Strawberry Hill.

A stark and grim recollection of the past is the old City Gaol, now a busy visitor centre and tourist attraction rather than a place of incarceration and penitential misery. That's the chalk.

The cheese 'n' wine comparison sits next door to the old high stone Cork gaol perimeter walls: it is Lisin, a just finished top-end residential development at the foot of steep Strawberry Hill by Sunday's Well.

The only point of similarity between the old gaol and the scheme of 12 newly completed apartments is the fact both have gated entrances, one designed to keep people firmly inside, the other designed to restrict access to 'residents only.'

And, inside the gates, it is a bit of a world apart; when the sun brightens the landscaping you could be in the hills above Los Angeles or some south of France coastal niche.

The man behind Lisin is developer Gerry Calnan, who has a feel for the whole Sunday's Well area with several properties in hand here and a site on Buxton Hill for sale as well.

He says he "went for the wow factor," but it is discretely hushed wow! rather than a screaming, show-off number.

He has fitted in 12 apartments into an old quarried out garden site beneath a limestone-built house (the original Lisin) and the old gaol walls.

He notes that part of the strip of ground had a tennis court on it for years reflecting the leisured lifestyle of the area (pony riding was a feature here too off Strawberry Hill in the 1960s and 1970s.)

Essentially, the 'units' here are apartments, but the lay-out and character of the place is far more personal than the word 'apartment ' conjures up.

Helping the feel of individuality is the fact it is low rise - just two storeys - and each has its own front door, so there's no impersonal corridors to contend with.

Lisin is launched on the market in a fully-finished state, with a quite spectacular show apartment with some of the best views of all as a taster, so essentially what you now see is what you get, says selling agent Hugh McPhillips of Marshs auctioneers who has four two-bed apartments to sell at present, at prices of €510,000 and €525,000.

The market pitch is towards the corporate letting sector, and several are already retained for this use with rents set at €1,800 per month, and the intention is to provide a five-star service to compete with the best hotel suites for visiting execs, professionals and others coming to or relocating to Cork.

A management company will handle lettings, and maid service will be provided, says Mr Calnan of his well-delivered product.

But, in fact, the level of finish product is so high he may well have to balance buying interest as well from couples or individuals trading down and keen to buy for personal use.

Selling points are solid design and quality of build (Spanish slate roofs, limestone quoins, etc, built by Cumnor Construction), ease of maintenance, a secure and covetable/cosseting living environment, elevated south facing views (from the site, not really from within too many of the west/east facing apartments) and parking, with the city a 15-minute downhill stroll.

Interior design is by Simone Kelly, and fit-out of the units was highly specified by the client/developer.

Features include use of lots of mirrored walls for impressions of space (each apartment has about 1,000 sq ft, with two bedrooms) wallpapers are back in decorative vogue with a bang, and auctioneer Hugh McPhillips indulged his sourcing expertise in antiques for the show apartment, and buyers can ask him to similarly furnish their acquisition if they wish for this clear niche in the letting market.

Sanitary ware, kitchen marbles, fireplace and other features have a lush Italian flair, and on the techie end, heating is underfloor and gas fired with gas-fire insert in the living rooms, security is strong with video intercom and alarm, there's broadband IT link, home cinema/hi-fi sound, power showers, large Jacuzzi baths and Swedex hardwood glazing giving access to balconies and/or patios.