Carrie Bradshaw would love this €850k swish-in-the-city living at Lancaster Gate

WITH no sign of The Prism, ostensibly Cork’s €20m answer to New York’s iconic Flatiron building, perhaps The Sherkin at Lancaster Gate could assume the role of understudy?

It has the profile: triangular, sharp-nosed, and tall (by Cork city standards). As The Prism, earmarked for a tiny site next to Parnell Place bus station, has not progressed beyond piling in three years, The Sherkin is where we are at in terms of unique geometric design.

Choosing a triangular footprint is more than a piece of architectural whimsy. Beyond the aesthetic appeal, there are practical benefits, such as improved energy efficiency. The angular shape allows greater exposure to natural light, and this is very much in evidence at No 16 The Sherkin, a swanky, spacious, sixth-floor apartment, just one floor below a €1m penthouse, sharing the same views, not too far behind in size, and in all respects, a worthy understudy.

Like the penthouse at No 19, No 16 has a choice of balconies: a small perch for sitting-out off the kitchen/breakfast room with views east towards the city, and a much longer, west-facing balcony that looks towards the nearby River Lee Hotel.

Whoever gets the main bedroom also gets access to this balcony. A second bedroom overlooks it, but does not have access.

Apartments of the quality of No 16 are among the frontrunners of Cork city apartment living, with other notable contenders at the Elysian, or further out in the ’burbs, in Blackrock House, where a 2,500sq ft unit set a new record for the development when it sold in September for €1.35m.

Lancaster Gate, designed by Henry J Lyons architects, trumps its rivals for proximity to UCC (500m).

 It has been reported that the original owner of The Sherkin penthouse was a Cork man with three daughters attending the university. He reportedly paid just over €1m after developers O’Callaghan Properties put Lancaster Gate apartments on the open market in 2007. No 19 sold for the third time in 2020 for €1m.

No 16 comes to market with a guide price of €850,000 and for your money you will get a city centre apartment bigger than your average three-bed semi-d (it’s 165sq m). You will also acquire a living space with superlative views over the River Lee and the city’s hills and ridges, great security, unbeatable convenience, a basement car parking space, zero maintenance, and a management company to take care of the day-to-day stuff for a fee of just under €3,000pa.

 It comes with a dash of glamour too and should appeal to a corporate clientele, or a high net worth individual, Irish or otherwise, looking for plush and lofty city living or for a central lock-and-leave base.

Selling No 16 is Sam Kingston Snr of Casey & Kingston and he says it’s a “stunning, turnkey, penthouse-style apartment… an extremely rare purchase opportunity in the heart of Cork city”. On its doorstep is the four-star River Lee hotel, with swimming pool and gym for members.

VERDICT: It’s a toss up between owner/occupiers and investors. Lofty, deluxe living in the city. Carrie Bradshaw would surely approve.