Forget about losing your marbles, this €295k Marble Hall home is a winner
3 Marble Hall Cottages, Ballinlough Road
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Ballinlough, Cork City |
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€295,000 |
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Size |
67 sq m (721 sq ft) |
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Bedrooms |
2 |
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Bathrooms |
1 |
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BER |
C3 |
HAVING taken a bit of a battering in recent years with the loss of a local newsagents (High Street Stores), a pub/bistro (Lion’s Den), a launderette and just last year, the closure of the local post office, the commercial life of upper High Street in Cork City looked precarious. The pandemic didn't help either - it nearly did for the long-standing Southern Star bar.
Now though, fortunes appear to be changing: The Southern Star has re-opened under new ownership following a restrained but effective overhaul and is pulling in punters in their droves; Nos 1 and 2 High Street, comprised of a boarded-up premises and the adjoining High Street Stores, are to combine into a four-storey office block, to be re-worked by Spillane Brothers’ Builders and next door, the former Lion’s Den, which no longer has a bar license, is under offer at €350,000 with Terence O’Leary of Murray Browne. While he says it needs “a bit of TLC”, there are good opportunities, such as turning the ground floor into residential (there are currently two two-bed apartments overhead) or perhaps retaining the commercial ground-floor element and introducing a coffee shop, which the area lacks. Two other vacant premises near the Lion’s Den, Nos 4 and 5 High Street, are also set to undergo works, judging by planning applications.
To summarise: after a couple of difficult years, the High Street area looks set to be revitalized, which is good news for anyone looking to buy in the locale.
One couple simultaneously glad and sad at High Street's improving prospects are the vendors of No 3 Marble Hall Cottages, a delightful, two-bed home, where the Ballinlough Road meets High Street/Douglas Road, near some very smart-looking Cork City Council homes.
“We’d been waiting three years for the Southern Star to re-open and now that it’s finally done so, we are moving on,” they laugh.
According to the Property Price Register, the couple bought the house in February 2020 for €250,000. It wasn’t in rag order, but they still did substantial work to it, ripping up floors (excluding the lovely black and white tiled hallway), taking out the kitchen and wardrobes and reducing the bathroom count.
“When we moved in there was a shower room and a bathroom, so we kept the shower and converted the bathroom into a walk-in wardrobe,” they say.
The couple hired Carrigaline-based O’Mahony O’Donovan Fitted Furniture to fit a new shaker-style kitchen which is open-plan to the dining and living area where there’s a redbrick fireplace with oak mantel.
It’s a dinky home, spick and span and tastefully done and the couple is sorry to be moving on, but are returning closer to home in Carrigaline.
“We've loved living here, the location is brilliant, as we both work in town and we could walk to work every day,” they say.
You could easily walk to Douglas village too, or take the bus from the nearby bus stop. Moreover, No 3 is convenient as could be for anyone working in nearby St Finbarr’s Hospital.
Roy Dennehy of Dennehy Auctioneers is handling the sale of No 3 and given the price point - €295,000 – he's expecting good interest from first time buyers. While it’s a snug home at 67 sq m, Mr Dennehy says it’s a better option than an apartment as it has its own front door and a private outdoor courtyard to the rear, perfect for summer dining/bbqs.
First time buyers aren’t the only parties he’s expecting interest from - downsizing retirees are also possible, as well as investors, given convenience of location. Equally it could appeal to a single person or couple that travels a lot but would like/require a city pad.
Cosy couple’s cottage off regenerating High Street.
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