Five-bedroomed Beechwood back from the brink

YOU get more than you’d bargain for with number 8 Beechwood: not only has it got an unexpected five bedrooms and 1,500 sq ft, it is also for sale for a fraction of what it cost its vendors.

On the main Douglas Road, within a short walk of Cork city centre, number eight was bought several years ago as a property play when more than one developer had their eye on the Nemo Rangers GAA pitch behind.

While one developer secured number eight at a very considerable financial cost, developers Fleming Construction had their own purchase plans for two adjoining Beechwood houses, numbers 6 and 7, aiming to knock them for main road access to the playing pitches. However, an Bord Pleanála considered the Beechwood terrace of sufficient merit to knock that demolition plan on its head. This March, Fleming Construction got approval for 100 houses via another entrance, the nearby former FCA grounds.

The man who’d bought number 8 hasn’t sat still on his expensive gamble, and has done a thorough overhaul of the well-sited house. In its fully refurbished state, it is for sale via estate agent, Michael McKenna, for €450,0000 — under half of what it cost.

Things didn’t go to plan, but for any new occupant, that loss will be their gain: the house is a big surprise, in a small-looking package. It is a Tardis job: it seems to open out and expand once you get close — heck, even the back garden is 100’ long, with rear avenue access, full security, and parking prospects for a small forecourt of cars.

Now, extended as well as upgraded, it has four first-floor bedrooms, all of them doubles and two of them have smart, new en-suite bathrooms, there’s also a main bathroom with bath and separate shower, while one ground-floor room has potential to be bedroom number five, with plumbing for an en-suite.

And that still leaves room for a front reception, 13’ by 12’, with fireplace, and a big 22’ by 13’ kitchen with utility off, as well as rear study and a ground floor loo?

The space is seemingly pulled from somewhere, and the finish level is high, with solid-oak flooring downstairs, good joinery throughout, high insulation levels, new slate roof, and new double glazing.

The full-southerly back wall is crying our for a conservatory sun-room addition, and a few neighbours show the bonus of Beechwood terrace’s orientation. But, you can forgive the vendor for deciding not to build it himself, enough is enough.