Top views from House of the Week at Top of the Hill
2 Lansdowne Terrace, St Patrick's Hill
St Patrick’s Hill, Cork city
€485,000
203 sq m (2185 sq ft)
6
2
E1
Fluctuating fortunes and comprehensive renovations are the leitmotifs at Lansdowne Terrace, a graceful row of four Victorian-style homes at the crest of prodigiously steep St Patrick’s Hill.
Back in the heady boom days, although evidence is anecdotal pre Property Price Register (PPR), they commanded high prices.
No 3 came to market in 2006 with an asking price of €750,000, having also changed hands two years earlier, when the vendor was musician and ex-Dixies front man, Joe Mac. In the two years between, it was re-wired, re-plumbed, re-plastered and re-invigorated.
A second of these tall, three-storey homes, No 1, which featured here, came to market in 2007 when prices were still sky high. Although in a relatively untouched state, it’s believed to have sold well north of €600,000.
Five years later it returned to market, superbly made-over, with an asking price of €640,000. It was subsequently taken off the market.
Then in 2015, No 4 Lansdowne sold for a very modest €228,000, but what condition it was in is unknown as the only information locatable in relation to the sale is what’s recorded on the PPR.
A third outing for No 1 in 2017 saw it reach a sale price of €575,000.
Now, it's the turn of No 2 and it’s guiding at €485,000 with Garry O’Donnell of ERA Downey McCarthy.
In good order structurally, according to Mr O’Donnell, it has some lovely period features (picture rails, coving, handsome staircase), but it does need to be modernised.
For starters, the kitchen needs re-jigging - it’s essentially a galley overlooking a small enclosed yard to the rear.
Someone with architectural flair could no doubt re-purpose the ground floor layout to perhaps incorporate one of two large reception rooms into a more functional, contemporary, kitchen space.
The living room to the front of the property is a gorgeous, light-filled room, with two large sash windows and a high ceiling.
It opens into the lounge which could perhaps form part of a new kitchen.
Overhead, there’s a bathroom on the half landing and on the first floor, three bedrooms, one of which is ensuite. Mr O’Donnell says there were originally two bedrooms on this floor, but the largest was subdivided, but it could be returned to its original state as a big, elegant front bedroom. The second floor contains another three bedrooms.
While No 2 will require some investment, it does have an advantage over its renovated neighbours - it has a garage, albeit it's pretty compact. Nonetheless it's a bonus on the city’s steepest hill (handbrake parking anyone?), in an area where a proliferation of schools makes on-street parking tricky.
What all four houses have in common is unbeatable views of classic Cork landmarks, like St Anne’s Shandon and North Cathedral, not to mention a westerly panorama of the city, from this loftiest of viewing platforms.
They also have the badge of convenience - near the city centre, schools and the rapidly evolving hospitality fest that is the Victorian Quarter.
In the end of the day, Lansdowne is a row of very impressive city homes, noted in Buildings of Ireland as a terrace that makes “a positive addition to the streetscape”, due to “the scale and graceful proportions of these houses”.
The opportunity to buy into the terrace is generating strong interest, Mr O’Donnell says, with returning expats featuring.
“We’ve been busy with enquiries straight off the bat. The first in to view were the parents of someone from Cork, living in Dubai,” Mr O’Donnell says.
He predicts it will be bought as a family home and renovated.
“And there will be huge interest, because of where it is, between St Lukes, Wellington Road and the Victorian Quarter. And of course those magnificent views.”
The highly successful renovation of neighbouring properties demonstrates the potential of these fine city homes. Come with cash to spare.
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