New apartments linked to CIT campus walkway

THE day every student dreams of, not having to get out of bed for lectures, is just around the corner.

The technology to bring lectures to the student, instead of the other way around, has been demonstrated in Cork’s Institute of Technology, where the power of the Internet has brought lectures given in the US live to CIT classrooms.

And, now it’s only a matter of time before lectures from CIT and other campuses go direct to the student’s quarters as well.

Well-placed for such eventualities is the Parchment Square Section 50 student accommodation development in Cork: it adjoins the CIT campus with a direct physical walkway to it, and it also has its own broadband link as well to the college for instant transmission of data.

Developer Paul Kenny of the Kenny Group is launching the sales of phase two of Parchment Square, some 80 apartments with 285 student beds - and it is fully built, and completely let for the coming academic year, he says.

Phase one had 95 apartments and 300 beds, and has been built a couple of years as one of the earlier S 50 schemes. Those phase one units were sold at €200-240,000, and showing the on-going appreciation, the second phase of admittedly larger units is priced from €330,000, with reliefs on €290,000.

Selling agent is Larry Murphy of Irish and European, who notes that all rooms are en suite (unlike phase one units, showing the jump in standards/expectations in just a couple of years.)

Rents average €95 to €97 per bed space for single room, or €75 a week for single rooms, and incomes per apartment average €15,000/€16,000 per annum.

“It is a gilt edged investment for buyers as far as I am concerned,” says developer Paul Kenny, “we are right next to the college campus, and we have a full 100% occupancy over the summer months as we let the apartment to the students at a reduced rent. We were very surprised ourselves at the 100% take-up,” he admitted.

Phase two has its 285 bedspaces/80 units in five blocks, and there’s a centralised booking system and management, CCTV.