Niche development puts quality in the mix

ONLY the developer has gone the extra mile in the nicheOakwood Manor development — everything else is a short walk from Kenmare’s core, in a town reckoned to be one of the world’s top 10 retirement spots.

Kenmare accommodates all-comers, from holiday home hunters to retirees to relocaters — and developer Brian Gallivan has tapped into all those likely buyers with Oakwood Manor, says Lia Dennehy of Hamilton Osborne King. Even the scheme’s interior designers, David and Sarah MacGinty, fit the profile. They’ve settled near Kenmare after high-flying design and furniture business jobs in Britain.

They’ve put a firm stamp on the look of these detached and terraced homes in the second and last phase of a 44-unit scheme. It started with a swift sell-out of 18 semis, which were all snapped up in one day, and now a showhouse — open July 29 and 30 from 1-5pm — has been done in one of the detached house types.

Now up for sale are two 1,820 sq ft four-beds, priced from €565,000, five 2,000 sq ft homes at €650,000, three end of terrace three-beds of 1,360 sq ft at €415,000 and two-mid-terraced of 1,033 sq ft, each priced at €325,000.

Both Lia Dennehy and Peter Cave of HOK acclaim the standard of finish and building: “They are among the very best we’ve seen in Munster,” they say.

The quality starts with the kind of stuff you won’t see, but can feel, such as concrete floors at both ground and first floor levels, which allows all the internal walls to be blockwork and not stud partitioning, and the stair base is also concrete.

Water supply is pressurised, so the many showers are powered, each house has a Jacuzzi bath and a central vacuum system, while the kitchens have solid handmade units with granite worktops. Bosch appliances are included in all sales.

Heating in these Victorian lookalikes (design is by locally-based DOD architects) at ground level is underfloor, under wide-plank oak flooring and there are gas fireplaces in several of the bedrooms as well as in the living areas.

Windows are moss-green hued Swedex, and rainware is cast aluminium, while exterior finishes include Liscannor limestone.

Each property will have a fully, individually landscaped garden with a brick paved patio. Completion is expected by October.