Belfield Abbey homes are close to all city’s amenities

WITH a bullet-proof setting like Cork’s Boreenmanna Road, and a location just a kilometre from City Hall, sales of new houses could be started at any time — irrespective of the state of the property market.

And, so comes the surprise pre-Christmas new homes launch of Belfield Abbey with Sherry FitzGerald, selling off plans but well over half way through construction.

The 4.8 acre site, with old stone walls, cottage and wooded copse retained in one corner, faces on to Ballinlough’s little-known public amenity park (community hall, tennis courts and more) on one side, and back onto the African Missions on the other. It has Douglas, Ballintemple and Blackrock suburbs all a short haul away, while the Atlantic Pond and the Marina are among locally accessible walks, and the south city link road is a straight-line scoot away.

One of the reasons for bringing forward the sales at Belfield Abbey was the impatience of would-be buyers, a category ‘certainly thin on the ground elsewhere.

But, that’s not the case for this O’Flynn Construction scheme of just 65 houses, with all house types going up for sale from this weekend and pent-up demand.

The agents Sherry FitzGerald have hundreds of inquiries registered since news broke of O’Flynns buying the site, in a low-key off-market deal in 2005 for over 14 million.

There are only five detached houses on offer. Three ‘A’s of 2,300 sq ft are priced over the €1 million mark, while two smaller ‘B’ types of 1,660 sq ft will be sub-€1 million.

All of the designs, by Roderick Hogan Architects, are for three-storey houses, save for three only two-bed dormer bungalows of 990 sq ft, pitched at traders-down at €450,000. There’s even something for first-time buyers in this stellar setting so close to town, three-bed townhouses of 950 sq ft selling from €385,000 for a mid unit.

Other options include three-bed townhouses of 1,550 sq ft, and these are selling from €550,000. Four-bed semis and end terraces, family friendly for traders-up of 1,440 sq ft, are priced from €615,000, with two en suite bathrooms and top floor loo for two more bedrooms.