Go green at €295k compact Cork city pad next to 'the jungle house'

NOW a century old, the compact but cute cottage No 8 Sunview Terrace has seen lots over its time – including its own physical renewal in the hands of a young family who bought the South Douglas Road home at auction back in 2017.

Set at the city end of the “back” Douglas Road, on land traditionally used for market gardening, the 1920-built No 8 has witnessed the birth of a nation; the rebuilding of the city centre 3km away after the 1920 burning of Cork; the growth of Douglas over the mid-1900s, (and still ongoing); its integration into the ‘burbs, and the arrival in the mid-1980s of the N27 road link along an old railbed line running south and west out of the city.

Oh, and more recently, No 8 saw the arrival in 2020 of a drive-through covid test centre on a surfaced level carpark across the road too — with a pandemic pretty much bookmarking its first century.

What’s next? Well, a change of ownership to begin with. Having been pretty much fully renovated post-auction purchase in 2017 — for a recorded €170,000 in a poor state — it’s now listed with a €295,000 AMV by agent Linda O’Donovan, of Bowe Auctioneers: “The phone hopped as soon as we went online, there’s huge interest in it straight off”.

She had three days of viewings booked at the start of the week — predominantly first-time buyers, but also some traders-down and traders-in. Apart from the affordable price bracket, its excellent upgraded condition and stylish aesthetic, she also singles out the size of the back garden and its south-west aspect to the rear as box-tickers.

For those with green fingers, they’ll be continuing a tradition as the vendors have had fruit and veg beds and lots of space for a plumbed utility area to the back, plus covered sit-out space, a shed, play areas for their child, and the soil is rich — a testament to its fertile market garden days.

The easiest way to give directions to No 8 is to say it’s two doors away from a larger end-terrace home where the occupant — an artist — has planted, and planted, and planted the front and back of his home for decades so that it now looks like, well, a dense jungle guaranteeing a smile for passers-by .

At the tamer end of the scale, No 8 is a two-bed of around 780 sq ft, insulated, with new windows, doors, kitchen — good woods used — new bathroom with shower, new wiring, and crisp décor.

“You are instantly made to feel at home. The current homeowners have an eye for interiors and the blend of tones throughout complement each other,” says Ms O’Donovan, recommending viewing to appreciate it — though she’ll be so busy she might rue that urging endorsement.

No 8 has a C3 BER, a bus stop is 30m away, the city link road suits drivers for access, and the city centre is an easy walk away via Turners Cross, along with sports facilities.

There is pedestrian access very close by to the new city amenity, the multi-use expansive Tramore Valley Park. It was built on the site of the old municipal dump, so another vast improvement seen in the latter decades of century old Sunview Terrace!

VERDICT: Small, but perfectly placed and aspected. Top price on the terrace to date is No 3, which made €270,000 in 2024. No 8 will fly past that, the only question is: “How high?”