Sunday Independent Article on SeaGreen Homes

Views to thrill at SeaGreen launch in Greystones Locally based developer Jim Woods launches the first phase of an A2-rated development with beautiful sea views.

Liadan Hynes

'This is the best site we have ever had," says Jim Wood of Wood Group Homes. It is not an empty boast.

Positioned on the hill to your right as you enter Greystones from the M50, overlooking the village, with stunning sea views, the location of SeaGreen, which launches this weekend, is spectacular.

The development, on approximately 22 acres, will eventually comprise 180 homes, mostly three-bed, semidetached, with some four- and five-bed semis and one terrace of three. The first phase comes to the market this weekend, with the launch of approximately 20 homes; three-bed semis, 108-109sqm, from â‚Ź395,000 and several five-beds, 171sqm, from â‚Ź535,000.

Jim Wood's family-run construction business, Wood Group Homes, has been building homes in the area for years - it launched Glendale on the outskirts of Delgany last year.

Wood himself has lived in Greystones for the past 25 years. He affirms that it is a very different experience building in an area you also live in. "I meet the people I build for down the pub," he says on site before the launch, as he sees to last-minute details. Feedback is immediate, he explains. You know your market particularly well, and what people want.

A waiting list began last August and grew to 500, with at least the first hundred names all locals. Estate agent Sherry FitzGerald says interest is split roughly 50-50 between first-time buyers and those trading up, with a couple of inquiries from down traders. The deposit for first-time buyers is steep, particularly for those renting and raising children, but, anecdotally, it seems that more affluent areas, such as Greystones, are doing better with first-time buyers as they are more likely to have parents who can afford to help them with the deposit.

With this project, Wood Group Homes have deliberately gone for a low-density approach. There are seven houses to the acre and the end result will include 3.3 acres of green space, divided out over several pockets.

Built on a slope, some of the units will be bungalows, in order to maintain the views of the houses above on a clear day, it is possible to see Wales. There is a small stretch of land behind the site, which will most likely be developed in the future but only with bungalows, so pastoral views of the fields and hills will not be blocked out.

The developer has worked with interiors designer Eily Roe for almost 20 years now.In fact, they have been working together for so long that Roe says she is now involved from the pre-planning stage. As a mother of four children, she says she approaches the interior design with a family firmly in mind.

"It has to be real," she says. As such, she is responsible for some of the details that answer the requirements thrown up by the minutiae of daily life. The enormous, purpose-built linen closet in the five-bed homes. On the landing of the three-bed semi, space originally intended for the master bedroom's walk-in-wardrobe, has been fashioned into an office space on a mezzanine level off the landing. It would work well as a home office, or as a place for teenagers to do their homework and is an original touch, something Jim says is hard to bring to a three-bed semi.

All the homes have a separate outer hall, leading into the hallway. It's a nice traditional touch that you don't see often in new homes, but it was also the detail that Jim says was largely responsible for getting these houses to an A2 rating, the halls acting as something of an air-lock. All homes come with wall-mounted electric fires as standard.

In the three-bed semi-detached units, there is a living room overlooking the sea, with linking doors to the open plan kitchen/dining room. The windows are a particularly nice feature, with such views, Jim says they felt it was only right to go for something special. They are triple-glazed and tilt turn, which means they open fully like doors, really bringing the views into the living space.

There is also a storage cupboard, utility room and WC on ground level. The landing space, as stated, has an office space on a mezzanine level and three bedrooms, including the en suite master bedroom and the main bathroom. All bedrooms have built-in wardrobes.

The five-bed semi-detached homes have a separate living room, a kitchen/dining room and sizeable utility room. There are two storage cupboards off the hall and a WC. The third floor, as well as a storage space, and sizeable bedroom, with en suite, features a Cabrio velux window, essentially a Velux window which converts into a balcony. Fully fitted kitchens with appliances are standard.

There are three schools almost on the doorstep of the development, including Greystones Educate Together, An Gael Scoil, and Temple Carrig Secondary School, in their impressive new home. Blacklion Shopping Centre is a five-minute walk away and includes a Lidl and Spar, and the Dart is a 15-minute walk.

This first phase is due to be completed between September 2016 and January 2017.

Price: Three-bed semi-detached, 108-109sqm, from â‚Ź395,000 Five-bed semi-detached, 171sqm, from â‚Ź535,000 Viewing: Today, 2-5pm Agent: Sherry FitzGerald (01) 667 1888 Sunday Independent