Good viewing and bidding likely as ‘hidden gem’ is certain to spark interest from buyers

No 6 The Grove is tucked away off College Road, Cork, and is priced at €450,000, writes Tommy Barker

THE Grove is one of the more recent ‘new’ house developments in Cork city’s inner western suburbs, and even at that it dates to the mid-1990s — so, it qualifies as ‘new’ just because there’s been so little recent house building in the mature suburbs.

There’ll be more than curiosity about the planned sale of 6 The Grove, tucked away at the bottom of Orchard Road by the Victoria Cross end — there’ll be good viewing and bidding too.

It’s a four-bed detached home, built by O’Brien and O’Flynn on lands they acquired off College Road back in the 1990s for the Brookfield complex, with leisure centre, and The Grove’s houses fringe Brookfield’s lower grounds.

When first built these were good sellers, launching just as the market began to climb back in 1995, priced from £115,000, and a decade later they were in the €600-700,000 league. Now, No 6 is priced at €450,000 by agent Michael Downey of ERA Downey McCarthy who says it is ‘a hidden gem’, in turnkey condition and in a brilliant location.

In good overall order, it is a bit dated in some respects (such as the tiled living room floor,) but location wise, it is sort of top of the scale for family buyers. It has got schools and third-level colleges all within an amble, as well as a raft of sporting amenities and clubs, and with great walks out along the Curraheen river and Lee Fields, or through the UCC campus.

Both CIT and UCC are major employers nearby, and those institutions, or the Bon Secours hospital 500 metres away, and the CUH, may well supply a buyer for No 6 with its quiet, and super-convenient, setting.

With its 1,550 sq ft, No 6 the Grove has three reception rooms, the largest of which is 17’ by 10’ and the back room has sliding door access, to the south-east aspected back garden and brick-paved patio. Reception three is used as a study, there’s a utility and guest WC, and one of the bedrooms is en suite.

VERDICT: Houses in the Grove merit extensions as families come to stay for the duration.