Doing the Charleston

COOL, calm and selective, Charleston Close is a development strictly for grown-ups - and picky purchasers at that.

This new scheme of 16 houses on the Bailick Road in Midleton is aimed squarely at the high-end market and it comes with lots of those subtle extras you’d expect in houses costing over €400,000 each.

A gated development by the Southgate Group, with Cohalan Downing and Associates as agents, six of these three-storey houses are now on the market in a fully completed condition.

This was a deliberate decision by the developers who wanted to present a smart, finished product. So, the gates are in, the parking and hard standing are finished and there’s even spotlighting on to the huge old trees to the front of the scheme.

The showhouse is also finished and available to view from January 15. Styled with understated, good taste, the browns and beiges of the 70s have been dragged into the noughties for pared-down chic.

There are also many innovations which are not immediately obvious, but which make life smooth and easy.

Designed by Roderick Hogan and Associates, the houses hark back to the Victorian era with living room and kitchen on the ground floor and a first-floor drawing room.

Split-levels also create a bit of interest and each three-bedroom unit has 1,400 square feet of space, three bathrooms with two of the rooms en suite. Just two, four-bedroom units at 1,800 square feet are planned at Charleston Close and these should be available at the next release.

Each bathroom has electric, underfloor heating, which can be switched on or off at will, and the remainder of the heating system is zoned and pressurised and run on gas.

All the bathrooms are tiled and fully fitted and doors come with brushed aluminium ironmongery. Recessed lighting is fitted in the living rooms.

The houses run in three consecutive rows and overlook Cork Harbour on the right-hand side while a green area sandwiched between the first and second row includes mature woodland.

Prices will start at €425,000 for the mid-terrace townhouses and both end houses in the first six units released have a price tag of €435,000.

Suzanne Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing’s new homes division is marketing Charleston Close and says the estate represents a high quality investment, especially for owner/occupiers.

Just 25 minutes from Cork city, and poised to take full advantage of the new rail connection due in the next four years, the location offers security and tranquillity, she says, as well as a good standard of living.