Blog post by Owen Reilly, September 19th 2016
Tree-lined Forbes Street connects Grand Canal Square to Sir John Rogerson’s Quay at the River Liffey. An appealing vista from Grand Canal Square takes in contemporary apartment and office buildings to left and right and culminates at the far side of the river with the redbrick protected building of the former London and North Western Hotel. On the left is Forbes Quay, a small and distinctive apartment complex that, since its completion in 2008, has been widely admired. (I bought my first own home in Forbes Quay and have my head office in one of the retail units.)
Thoughtful design has provided a special environment
Forbes Quay comprises two conjoined buildings located on Forbes Street and Lazer Lane; with retail units at ground level on Forbes Street, there are 124 apartments with a wide variety of layouts and sizes – most dual aspect with generous balconies. The quiet landscaped courtyard to the rear backs onto the offices on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. On Forbes Street, the complex is distinguished by marble cladding on the façade, a covered colonnade at ground level and a perimeter of continuous granite paving bounded by a wall of vibrant and lush planting. Hardwood ceilings above the colonnade and apartments’ balconies further distinguish the building with the hardwood overhang above the penthouse on Forbes Street completing the design. Designed by KMD Architecture for developers Alanis Developments, P Elliott and Redquartz, they succeeded in adding to the visual amenity of Grand Canal Dock and in providing a special environment. The residential scheme was also one of the first in Ireland where a centralised heating and fully pressurised water supply was provided – to render individual water storage and boiler installations unnecessary, and to ensure professional maintenance of all equipment and energy saving for residents. The building is managed by RF Property Management who maintain an immaculately clean and calm residential environment.
Limited turnover with consistently strong demand
While prices overall in Dublin have slowed, in Grand Canal Dock, we continue to observe strong demand, strong prices and fast sales. Given their scenic and convenient location, given their special design – and given their limited supply – there is always strong demand in particular for Forbes Quay apartments. Four only have been sold so far in 2016 with an average price achieved per square metre of €6,177 (€574 per square foot) – up from an average of €5,706 per square meter (€530 per square foot) in 2015. This compares well to €5,188 (€482), the average price per square meter/foot that we have observed so far this year across Dublin as a whole. The apartments are also in demand as rentals; two-bed apartments have commanded monthly rents up to €2,350 this year while we have rented three-beds for €3,000 per month. There are just two penthouses and we are lucky enough to have been asked to sell one; additional to the internal area of 140 square meters (1,506 sqft), it has more than 200 square metres (2,152 sqft) of adjoining outside space that includes two very special roof gardens… We anticipate great interest.
Blog post by Owen Reilly, September 19th 2016
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