Cork’s 25-year old Lindville is an evergreen location for luxury

IT’S just over a quarter of a century since the Lindville development in Cork city’s suburbs wrapped up, and values have gone up four-fold, if not five-fold by now for the best.

The development of over 60 Victorian-style homes had a rocky start when the builders got into difficulties, though, said at the time to have been in part due to facilitiating buyers who wanted individual changes/alterations  to original designs.

But, virtually all got finished (a few sites at the back had lagged) and for most buyers of those days it’s all but a distant and only occasionally painful memory: substantial capital appreciation in the meantime surely has helped for those who’ve been in here for the long haul?

Prices back in the latter years of the 1990s had risen to as much as Ir250,000/290,000 (say €320,000/€370,000) for the very largest A-types, several of which line the development entrance along the main Blackrock Road in Ballintemple village, almost equidistant between the city centre and Blackrock village.

The Price Register shows 11 sales since 2010, two of which made over €1 million: No 25 in 2022 fetching €1.3m, and No 58 – one of the very largest, an ‘A’ type on a corner site on the main road getting a recorded €1.45 million a year later.

And, now along comes No 44, priced at €925,000 by estate agent Lawrnce Sweeney of Savills, and it’s a detached of 178 sq m or c 1,980 sq ft, with five bedrooms, spread over the upper two floors.

At just under 2,000 sq ft, it’s not terrifically large, and gets its bedrooms tally in by dint of being three storey: it has two en suite bedrooms on the middle level, and three more up top, under sloping ceilings where there‘s a further bathroom to serve this trio.

Lindville homes were among the first in a development to run day-one to three levels, and were modelled along the lines of Victorian originals (and some later Edwardian ones) along Cork’s Blackrock Road.

Architects Roderick Hogan Associates kept true to details like ornate fascia boards in painted hardwoods, steeply pitched slate roofs, eternal render and sliding sash windows and the like: in fact, the scheme spawned many imitators, both one-offs and small developments seeking premium prices, few getting it quite as ‘right’ as Lindville did.

Density was quite high though, thus site sizes and gardens were never very generous, and in parts there’s a fair bit of overlooking from one house to another/over gardens….but it’s never discouraged buyers.

The scheme was built on the grounds of a former private hospital, up at the end of a long tree-lined avenue and planners (and architects/developers) made sure the trees remained as a central, green spine of the development: it’s even leafier now than back then.

No 44 is on a corner site, more or less south-facing at the back where there’s a multi-use garden room, with power supply, used as a games room right now, with a table tennis table and some gym/exercise equipment (hardly on a fitness par however with No 53 Lindville where rugby’s Dougie Howlett sold in 2021 for €835,000: that was c €100k over what the family had paid for the six-bed, c 2,240 sq ft 53 in 2016.

Making direct price comparisons can be tricky as variables include size, aspect, site size/position/privacy, as well as just plain old market conditions….and there’ll be plenty of Lindville owners’ eyes watching No 44’s sales progress, competitive bidding and eventual outcome.

It has a B3 BER, front reception, rear kitchen/diner with bright, glazed family room to the back/rear, down a step or two, plus utility and guest WC, so many boxes are ticked still for today’s family wish-lists – plus location, and ‘reputation.’ On the wider front, Cork’s Blackrock suburb is almost certainly home to more €1m+ sales than any other in and around the city, sort of depening where you draw the line but the Register does show over 40 at or above that sum, and a handful over the €2m mark, the latest of which was the exquisite period Riverside on a large wite with dual access on Castle Road, near Blackrock Castle, now on the Register at €2.1 million.

VERDICT: Lindville has had an allure from day one, for reasons from location to ‘desirable’ design across a mix of sizes: nothing has changed to knock it back since, and there’s only been a few settled suburban schemes since (such as Botanika) to hit the same level of recognition.