Living the high life in Cork's Jacob's Island for €415,000

Penthouse apartment in Jacob’s Island has balconies and harbour views

The Kingfisher, Jacobs Island, Cork

Jacob’s Island, Cork
€415,000
Size	93 sq m; 1,000 sq ft
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	2
BER	C1

LARGE developments, like large ships, can take a while to turn around: Years in the case of bigger and mixed-use developments.

One of the most transformational has been at Cork City’s eastern end, the Mahon peninsula by the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

The old ‘end of city jurisdiction’ where Cork harbour broadens out from the feeder River Lee, is now home to one of Munster’s largest shopping centres, a multi-screen cinema, a retail park, offices, a hospital, and hundreds of homes, spanning townhouses, semi-ds, big detacheds, duplexes and apartments, including some penthouses.

No 652 The Kingfisher is one of the latter, being top floor, with ceilings over 13’ tall in places, soaring under sloping and curving contemporary roof lines, balconies, and has a double aspect. Its 1,000 sq ft+ takes in two bedrooms, one of them en suite, and a large mixed-use kitchen/dining/living section that’s half the size of the overall unit, some 500 sq ft.

The owner of apartment 652 bought around 2004, keen on the views of the inner harbour by Lough Mahon/Douglas estuary and passing shipping and pleasure boats, and used it for family members, and for a while as rental.

The pristine penthouse is priced via agent Patricia Stokes at €415,000, who says The Kingfisher “is one of the more spectacular buildings Jacobs Island has to offer”, with the top floor No 652 having a dual aspect and southerly views over the water, and setting suns on its western flank.

It has all of its space on the one level, but comes with double-height internal spaces, all reached by a lift, with reserved basement-level parking for two cars, and that basement also provides private lock-up storage for bulky items.

The development is on over 40 acres ringed by the Cork Greenway, an enormous amenity for the city and its citizens, and an early precursor for City Hall’s plans to run amenity routes right through the city, from Ballincollig in the west as far as Mahon, and further east.

No 652 is “truly impressive in its use of extensive double-height glazing enhancing and bouncing natural light throughout the property, with a number of Velux roof lights ensuring every space within the apartment gets natural light,” says MsStokes, and adds that it’s “beautifully finished, with its accommodation laid out in an easy, comfortable flow”.

It has all the signs of a place in private/family use for most of its occupation, with good finishes and décor, above-standard lighting, radiator covers (heating is via gas, and the BER’s a C1). The main window banks have retractable blinds for the larger, lower panes with clerestory windows above tracing the shape of the roof’s curves.

The two bedrooms are left of the hall, each with built-ins and one has an en-suite plus balcony access, and the large living space with office niche.

The Kingfisher/Sanctuary is one of four apartment blocks done in the early 2000s; units typically have annual service charges of €2,000, and a larger block is under construction in a separate section. Public transport serves Jacob’s Island, while the ring road gets motorists back to the city.

VERDICT: Cork harbour life on high, with three balconies, ‘pocket’ parks in the grounds, plus private car parking.