Fertile ground for first-time buyers at Rose Hill in Mallow
Open plan living at Rose Hill. The show house, featured here, was fitted out by House & Garden
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Mallow, Co Cork |
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Price range: €335k-€500k |
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Size range |
967 sq ft-1860 sq ft |
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Bedrooms |
3 / 4 |
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Bathrooms |
3 |
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BER |
A2 |
HOUSE buyers eager to take ownership of their new homes at Rose Hill in Mallow have a little treat in store. A handmade box of Brona chocolates, produced on the banks of the River Feale in North Kerry, also awaits. It’s one of a number of nice touches at Rose Hill where Hallmark Developments are keen to emphasise their commitment to detail.
“We even went to the effort of sourcing Rosehill red camellia plants from Holland and we intend to plant two feature shrubs on the way into the estate,” says Kerryman Kieran Flynn, Hallmark Developments managing director.
The chocolates are manufactured by Dan O’Connor, the son of Kieran’s first client. He recalls every development since, starting with seven houses at The Links, Ballyellis in Mallow, next to the golf course, where getting finance was tough as they were starting out. “We had to time it so that we had working capital to continue with the build, but we’ve built up a relationship with the lending institutions since,” says Kieran, who founded the firm in 2010 as a project management and development company, before branching out to acquiring sites, building homes and staying the course as developers of mainly private residential schemes.
They branched out beyond Mallow too, developing more ambitious schemes such as Midleton's Rock Brooke (28 units); Carrigaline's Castleheights, 200 units+) and Castle Court in Whitechurch, where the last of 88 units were handed over before Christmas.
Now coming on stream is the fourth phase of homes at Rose Hill, a two strand development, of which 73 units make up the first strand. The first three phases Nos 1-38 (minus the showhouse, No 12) sold out last year and the first set of keys (and chocs) were handed over this week. Next Tuesday, March 12, a further 18 homes will be launched, following an open viewing between 10am-12 noon on Saturday, March 9.
Included in this latest release are two four-bed detached homes (1,860 sq ft), with a guide price of €500,000; 10 x 4-bed semis (c1500 sq ft), with a guide of €400,000. The remaining six are all three-bed semis, and are the first three-bed semis to be released within the scheme. They include 2 x 3 bed semis of c967 sq ft with a likely guide of €335,000 and 4 x 3 bed semis measuring 1,336 sq ft, guiding at c€365,000. The price point means first time buyers can make use of the Help to Buy scheme to claim relief of up to €30,000. Buyers can also avail of the shared equity (First Home) scheme where the state and participating banks pay up to 30% of the market value in return for a percentage ownership in the new home.
Kieran says they are intent on pricing homes "as competitively as possible". He says homes of “the exact same size and finish (as their four-bed semis) cost between €475,000 and €490,000 in Midleton”. Mallow, he says, has the same good rail links as Midleton to Cork City and he expects that to be a big draw at Rose Hill, which is the town's nearest new development to the train station. Hallmark Developments project manager Emmet Gyvers says daily travel to Cork City using a Leapcard is c€8.80 “which is a far cheaper than having to park for the day in the city”.
Kieran says Mallow has just as much to offer as Midleton and Carrigaline, but that it “just isn’t pushed enough”. He mentions Mallow Racecourse, Mallow Castle Park and Gardens, its new state-of-the-art children’s playground, its amenity walk, angling decks on the nearby River Blackwater, a golf course – the list goes on.
His belief in the town is such that he lives there himself and his belief in Hallmark Developments is just as strong.
“We’ve been inundated with enquiries from people who bought off us before and are looking for a four-bed detached to trade up to at Rose Hill,” he says.
Elizabeth Hegarty of Savills, who is selling the Rose Hill homes, says the beauty of this scheme is not just the quality finish, but the fact that it’s a relatively low-density development - and the fact that there’s such a high volume of four-bed semis – 32 in total out of 73 - which she says is unusual.
Kieran says while they built 73 units on 10 acres, new higher density requirements would mean about 120 units on the same acreage if they were to go in for planning now.
Ms Hegarty predicts great demand for the latest phase at Rose Hill, particularly from first time buyers and traders-up. She points out that the train station is “at the bottom of the hill” while Mallow Hospital is a couple of minutes drive away. Besides the convenient location, Ms Hegarty says the houses are beautifully finished and have an attractive “back annex” (with the exception of the three townhouses).
The annex, with vaulted roof, gives an added dimension to the downstairs open plan area, which accommodates a kitchen, dining space and lounge area.
There’s a living room too, with extra high ceiling, to the front of the property and a utility off the kitchen.
All of the homes come with that coveted “A” energy rating; underfloor heating on the ground floor; an air-to-water heating system; fitted sanitary ware, quality internal joinery (Mallow Joinery) and a PC sum (c7k-8k) towards the cost of a Celtic Interiors kitchen. Potential buyers can draw inspiration from the showhouse, which was expertly fitted out by Dublin firm House & Garden.
The bulk of contractors that worked on the development were local.
Cork Architects Deady Gahan designed Rose Hill and house styles and facades are nicely varied (mix of finished render, plastered and painted, and attractive brickwork).
Landscaping at the development, which will include a large green, is by Ovens company Abbey Landscapes. Rear gardens will be seeded. Driveways are cobblelock paving.
For those who miss out on this latest phase, there will be a fifth phase “most likely summertime” says Ms Hegarty, when the final 18 units in this first strand are completed. All is not lost though for those who fail to secure a home this time around– Hallmark Developments has full planning in place for a second stage of development and another 299 units on a further section of the site, as well as a creche for 60 kids.
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