Leeside living at €410k Rochestown two-bed apartment 

No 70’s got gas heating, has a B energy rating and underground parking plus guest parking

70 Sonata, Harty's Quay, Rochestown, Cork. Pictures: H-Pix

Rochestown, Cork
€410,000
Size	80 sq m (860 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	2
BER	B

Cork city’s historic crest comprises a three-masted ship sailing between two red towers, thought to have been the King’s and Queen’s Castles at the city’s medieval Watergate.

Fast forward to the early 2000s, and two apartment developments, Harty’s Quay at Rochestown and the far larger Jacob’s Island scheme at Mahon reinterpreted that Cork crest, facing one another across the waters of Lough Mahon, and linked by a nearby old railway bridge, now part of a hugely popular lower Leeside walking route.

Both schemes were delivered by McCarthy Developments, with 175 apartments at Harty’s Quay in nine blocks, whilst Jacobs Island now has fresh wind in its sails, growing from some 600 apartments and houses in the early- to mid-2000s to now head to more than 1,200 units, with apartments dominating delivery seen on site from across the water.

In contrast, Harty’s Quay has been a finished entity for nigh on 20 years, with landscaping now very mature. That’s very clearly seen on the doorstep of this two-bed, ground floor apartment, No 70 The Sonata, one of the nine blocks on this pier-like site with water and tides on three sides, in a gated development by the Mahon Estuary Walkway, now slowly morphing into the Lee to Sea Greenway.

The development of one-, two-, and three-bed apartments with some spectacular penthouses, in blocks around under-ground parking and generally with nautical themed names, was developed on the site of the South Coast Boatyard.

The estuary-side business had, for decades, been operated by the Bushe family, who built fleet-loads of yachts at Harty’s Quay: the name stretches back to the 19th century or even earlier, likely associated with the Harty family of millers and bakers who lived at nearby Woodville House across the Rochestown Road by the former Rochetown Inn.

The chance to buy into the wholly rounded and mature Harty’s Quay in the heart of Rochestown, and right on the water, comes this month with the arrival of this owner-occupied apartment, guided at €410,000 by estate agent Patricia Stokes: she says her vendors have been here from day one, in 2004, and are now selling to trade to a larger home.

Their home has all the marks of care and attention over the years. With just over 850 sq ft, it has two bedrooms, one with en suite with shower, main bathroom with shower over bath, kitchen with dining area and main living area of up to 16’ by 16’ with access to a large composite deck, surrounded by low shrubs, box hedging, and other planting, with water views beyond over a grassy lawn.

The Price Register shows 145 Harty’s Quay resales, but just nine resales at the Sonata, the last in 2023, with a wide range of prices given the mix on offer, from €173,000 in 2013 for No 80, to €478,000 for No 81 in 2020.

Launched at €410k, No 70’s got gas heating, has a B energy rating, underground parking plus guest parking, and is getting early interest according to Ms Stokes from a mix of first-time buyers, and traders-down.

VERDICT: Rare Leeside living, by the waters and amenity walkways around Rochestown, in walk-in order.