That number 6 is to be the first house resale says a lot about the desirability of the small, high-end, gated Woodborough development of detached houses in Tower.
Launched with fanfare at the height of the boom, Woodborough homes were top of the range, with high-spec Scavolini kitchens, Villeroy & Boch bathrooms, and the latest, high-tech features, including surround sound, programmable lighting, and central vacuum systems.
The original €750,000/€850,000 prices reflected not just the space and quality of the houses and the Brian Cross-designed gardens, but also the gated, landscaped, private grounds.
The scheme suffered because of the financial crisis, and 10 of the remaining houses were later sold for half the original price to buyers who must now consider themselves fortunate.
Now, 20 years on since Woodborough’s launch, No 6, a five-bed priced at €725,000, is the first of the 24 houses in the development to come up for resale. (Woodborough numbers go up to 25, but there isn’t a number 13.)
“It’s an exceptional family home in one of Tower’s most exclusive enclaves, with mature, superbly laid-out gardens,” says Karl O’Reilly of Savills.
A dormer-style house, it has a raised, gable-fronted porch with an arched doorway, which gives it a villa-style look. Situated in a row of 11 similar properties, it sits on a fifth of an acre of mature, split-level, south-facing gardens.
The raised porch opens into a hallway that is midway between the two floors and has a staircase leading down to the living area and another going up to the bedrooms.
Down on ground level is a spacious kitchen/dining/living room with a high-gloss Scavolini kitchen, as well as a timber-floored dining area with doors opening onto a rear terrace/patio.
At the rear there is also a timber-floored living room with a built-in, contemporary fire, as well as a guest WC, a small utility, and a home office/fifth bedroom.
The upper level of the 180 sq m home has four bedrooms, including two with en suites, as well as a bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath — de rigueur for high-end houses built during the boom.
Mr O’Reilly says such was the level of finish and fit-out that the owners, who bought no 6 in 2014, didn’t have a lot to do other than choose colour schemes and select plants for the garden.
“They did put in a Stovax fire in the dining area,” he says, noting this helped the property achieve a B BER rating.
The gardens, which include a wraparound patio, are on four levels connected by ramps. Outside the dining room is a south-facing terrace overlooking two sections of garden at lower levels.
Out front, there’s a garden with flower beds, as well as a generous parking area.
Overlooking a sloping stretch of green, the property is accessed through a gated entrance that opens into a long, walled, tree-lined avenue.
Mr O’Reilly says the attractions for trade-up buyers include spacious accommodation and well-laid-out, mature gardens, as well as the privacy of the development and the popularity of the Tower area.
“Located within half a kilometre of Tower village, 11km from the city centre, and 10km from Ballincollig, it’s close to shops, local businesses, schools, sports clubs, and bus stops,” Mr O’Reilly says.
VERDICT: The first opportunity to buy a spacious home in a high-end development where residents have previously been reluctant to leave.
