Embracing change on Cork's Waterfall Road for €550,000

Four-bed detached Whitethorn has witnessed many changes 

Whitethorn, Waterfall Road, Cork.

Waterfall Road, Bishopstown
€550,000
Size	163 sq m (1,755 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

A lot has changed since Whitethorn was built back in 1973, on Cork’s Waterfall Road, just west of Bishopstown.

The detached four-bedroom home just about preceded the Regional Technical College — later CIT, now Munster Technological University — which came along in 1974 — and it also came a few years before what’s now the Cork University Hospital in 1978, one of Cork’s largest employers today.

More recently and even nearer at Curraheen came Marymount Hospital, relocated from the city’s St Luke’s Cross area.

Before, and since Marymount came out the Waterfall Road, new homes started to transform the original setting of the area, about 8km west of Bishopstown, and which was once served by the West Cork rail line.

Dozens of large detached homes came to the village in the 2000s, in Heatherfield and Earls Well: more recently, a new scheme of c275 homes — with a mix of houses, apartments, and duplexes called Waterfall Heights — has helped boost the area’s profile and population. More’s to come in a LRD, Waterfall Manor, with a further land sale also pending).

The Price Register shows individual sales at Waterfall Heights at up to €565,000. The register also shows a €14.75m sale last year, of apartment blocks 1 and 2; as well as a couple of sales of eight units in other blocks at €3.2m/€3.6m in the scheme undertaken by Bridgewater in conjunction with the local authority and housing bodies.

By contrast, the changes at this one-off 53-year-old home called Whitethorn seem more modest, but are nonetheless significant — most notable is its energy efficiency elevation to an impressive B3 BER.

It got this strong rating — and thus is eligible for a lower rate ‘green’ mortgage — thanks to external wrap insulation, new glazing and doors (inc new internal doors), heat pump and air to air heating, and 440w of solar panels with water diverter to heat water.

After the energy upgrades, it’s now for sale and ready to be taken in any of several directions in next ownership.

Selling is Michael Downey of ERA Downey McCarthy, who launched this month at €550,000, and that’s for a tidy order four bedroom (all double, none en suite) two storey detached 1,755sqhome ft on a site of 0.3 of an acre.

It’s got some internal features and finishes which date it to the ‘70s, but ones such as the scrolled metal work in the stairs add charm.

The oak kitchen, to the back off the dining room, is dated but solid, and bedrooms’ built-ins are varnished timber, with considerable capacity.

Whitethorn’s new look will come down to a buyer’s preference and additional budget, while the grounds are fairly undeveloped and under-landscaped right now: Planting will enhance the external appeal all the more.

VERDICT: Well-located, with a considerable improved energy rating, and scope to add further — either extending into the integrated garage, or adding on more area, subject to planning approval.

It will to appeal to medics, academics, tech workers in the western suburbs, and families looking to trade up to a detached on a good site.

It is just off the N40 with easy N71 access too, near a range of services, amenities, and major employers.

Pictures: H-Pix