Live it up on The Waterfront

Rose Martin visits six exclusive apartments up for sale in Plaza scheme.

MARLON BRANDO and Eva Marie Saint played the romantic leads in On the Waterfront — while Bobby and Maria Hilliard have the leading roles in The Waterfront, Clonakilty.

The west Cork-based developers, who run Hillback Construction, are up for five LAMA Awards, the Zurich Insurance-sponsored gongs that highlight ‘excellence in construction at local, county, and national level’.

The Hilliards are responsible for Clonakilty’s latest piece of civic sculpture: a whale caught in mid-dive and executed in bronze by sculptor, Kevin Holland. It is in an arresting position on the bypass road, and flags the Waterfront Plaza — a modern, retail, office, and apartment block which, so far, has cost €18m in site acquisition and build costs. The full Waterfront development will run, in time, to more than six acres, on the former GAA club grounds.

The completed apartment element of phase one comprises six units, all of which have open-air, own-door access from an enclosed central staircase and lift shaft. True to the restrained look of The Waterfront, the apartments have a muted grey-and-glass exterior, with a rough render that doffs its cap to the vernacular of the area.

These apartments are sleek, design-led living spaces that offer generous specifications at prices starting from €260,000 to €290,000, via joint agents, Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill and Kieran O’Gorman.

Spread two-by-two over the top three floors of the building, and facing out towards the sea at the rear, some wrap around the block to give views over the town and towards the west. There are different aspects in the various rooms with a lot of glazing and simple, but effective layouts.

All of the units are two-bed, with three units at 850 square feet and three at 950 sq ft. Each has access off a canopied terrace, with steel-and-glass balconies and sleek lighting. The hallways include utility/storage rooms with sliding, mirrored doors that cleverly hide integrated appliances and sinks.

Bathrooms are well above par with wall-hung ware, top quality mirrors and lighting, and recessed, glass shelving.

Tiling is good, too, in mocha tones with similar layouts through main and en-suite bathrooms. The living spaces use a mix of grey and grey-white colours in a soothing combination, a style reflected in the choice of furniture, where hand-built shelving in dove grey forms part of the look.

The Hilliards have used local suppliers for every element of the build and fit-out and have sourced the kitchens, bathrooms, and tiling from White’s in Clonakilty, Hegarty Lighting, and furniture from Padraig Sheehy, of EZ Living.

It’s all a local product, but one that will probably sell to blow-ins who will appreciate the convenience an apartment in Clonakilty can bring. There is the ease of having the town on your left and a choice of beaches down the road, to the right.

And that’s without going into the quality of life to be had in Clon, one of the more friendly, cosmopolitan towns in west Cork. With one large retail unit left to rent, (the local Gaelscoil has leased a large office and retail space), the Hilliards muse on the notion of a cafe/bookshop facing on to the courtyard. A first for Cork, perhaps, but very Clon.