Thoughts on Castleforbes Square?

chardonnay91

Hi guys, relatively new to Dublin here and currently scouting for a new rental. I was browsing daft and noticed that castleforbes square apartments were going for significantly less than other apartments around the docklands/ifsc area - wonder why that is? I haven't been to a viewing yet but from the photos they look luxurious enough imho...

Would appreciate if anyone familiar with the area could give me a quick lowdown on what it's like living there

ProudDUB

I'm in the IFSC, but am up at the Connolly Station end. Castleforbes Sq is down at the other end by the Point/O2 Arena & the entrance to Dublin Port. It is a couple of blocks from the end of the Luas Red Line. The only things down there are the arena and the Gibson Hotel. Last year, I thought about renting down there as the apts themselves were absolutely gorgeous.

I decided against it as the area didn't feel safe over all. The walk from the Luas to the apt is only 2 blocks but it didn't feel safe in the dark. The Sherrif St area is nearby, and it doesn't have the best of reputations.

There were also none of the amenities (shops, pubs, coffee shops, restaurants, supermarkets, chemists, gyms etc etc) that there are up at my end of the IFSC. All I saw down there was a Spar. Where I am, I can walk to anywhere I want to, be it the supermarkets, pubs, coffee shops, or up to Connell St. Down at Castleforbes Sq, you'd have to get the Luas to everywhere. There is also a lot of foot traffic where I am due to all the office buildings, the National College & Connolly Station being nearby. I feel really safe here in ways that I never did down in the Castleforbes area.

Rumour has it the Point Village (comprising a Dunnes, a cinema and a coffee shop) are opening soon or are about to open. Even if they do/are open, its still a pretty barren, bleak part of docklands/IFSC. There are lots of empty buildings & abandoned building sites there. If you work in Google or Facebook (that are just across the river) or in East Point Business Park (that is on the nearby East Wall Rd) or in the IFSC, it would be a very convenient location to your work. If you don't, it could be a very isolated place to live in.

If you have a car, Clontarf & the coastal suburbs are easily accessible due to the proximity of nearby East Wall Rd and the Alfie Byrne Bridge. That is one of the areas biggest selling points to me. However, if you do have a car, or people coming to visit you in one, parking could be a problem. When I was apt hunting down there, the ration of car spaces to apts did not seem good.

Edit: I have not been down there since last September, so am open to correction on what amenities are down there now.

Roxee

I would honestly say it's a perfectly fine area. My brother has owned an apartment in Castleforbes Square for several years and I also work a few buildings up on Castleforbes Road.

THe apartments are really well built (the block I've been inside anyway) and with the development of the Liffey Trust Centre (with the green room, the dance studio, the sushi place etc) and also now with the Odeon (which is a stunning building inside, I was just in it yesterday) the place seems to me to be on the way up.

Once the Anglo Irish building is finally (FINALLY!) finished off on the quays, the improvement will tranfer right the way down that road, I think.

THe onlly way you can really tell is to put the time in yourself and visit it at night, walk around, see how you feel. )

smallerthanyou

If you keep an eye on Allsops auctions Castleforbes has been liquidated by it's builders in recent months so all the units have been sold off to presumably mostly landlords. So as most are in the rental market compared to other developments that might be in nama. That might account for the lower prices. Apart from that I know nothing about the development!

jdivision

They're being sold by Certus-Lloyds-Bank of Scotland Ireland in its various guises. They were developed by Liam Carroll and aren't in NAMA as far as I'm aware. It'll take about two years to finish Anglo HQ.

chardonnay91

ah thanks guys!!!

Roxee wrote: »

THe apartments are really well built (the block I've been inside anyway) and with the development of the Liffey Trust Centre (with the green room, the dance studio, the sushi place etc) and also now with the Odeon (which is a stunning building inside, I was just in it yesterday) the place seems to me to be on the way up.

i guess the sushi place is a huge selling point; i LOVE sushi

finding a place to live is unbelievably stressful business

Karen_Ann

chardonnay91 wrote: »

finding a place to live is unbelievably stressful business

This could not be more true!