Well-bread living in Belfast city
Belfast Telegraph
September 10th, 2009
Homefinder got a preview of upper crust development The Bakery, with 156 luxury apartments, which is set to become a landmark. Helen Carson reports:
Address: The Bakery, Ormeau Road, BelfastAgent: BTW Cairns, tel 9066 8888
Timeless style: elegant entrance hall; funky open plan living accommodation and high spec kitchen at The Bakery Night garden: Diarmuid Gavin designed the exotic courtyard.
From the imposing black solid wood panel front door which opens onto a stunning lobby, The Bakery sets out to impressfrom the start. The wood panelled rather grand hallway has replicated the period elegance of the original hallway of the famous Northern Ireland bakery with seriously stylish black and white floor tiles. Now the entrance hall will offer a communal point for the development inhabitants. There is a post room, timeless slate feature wall and a heavy wooden table here. In addition there are some fantastic black and white images of bakery workers during Ormo's heyday to remind modern day residents of the building's proud heritage.
But there have been a few changes round here since the 1890s when the famous red brick building first went up. Ground floor car parking now occupies the space formerly used by the fleet of distinctive vans which delivered freshly baked bread to Belfast and beyond. Every resident at The Bakery will get a car parking space and it is secured with CCTV.
There are a total of 156 flats here with a housing mix of one and two-bedroom properties. And the scheme is made up of 75% two-bedroom apartments and 25% one-bed homes.
And buyers can expect luxury all the way with desirable duplexes and plush penthouses among the rather fab flats at The Bakery.
There is, of course, the famous courtyard garden which was designed by TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin with decking, lawns and no fewer than 50 different types of plants used to create something of an oasis in the city. Ligustrum trees, which can grow up to three metres in height, were also brought in from Italy to add to the continental feel here. And a sophisticated irrigation system will keep all the grasses and greenery here looking lush while a management company will take care of the gardening chores.
Built by Big Picture Developments, The Bakery is considered one of the province's most prestigious schemes and to date over 100 homes have been snapped up by eager buyers.
Mr Thomas O'Doherty, of selling agent BTW Cairns, said: "The developers wanted to raise the bar in terms of new schemes with bigger, high spec apartments and Diarmuid Gavin-designed gardens. We are confident The Bakery will become a Belfast landmark."
There is extensive use of glass here to enable that wonderful courtyard garden to be enjoyed from every possible vantage point. Even the lifts have glass to allow views of the garden.
The one-bedroom apartments range in size from 550sq ft to 650 sq ft with the two-bed flats measuring from 800-1,000 sq ft.
Generally the living areas to most of the apartments have an open plan design with living, dining and kitchen in one well laid out space. Other really interesting features are high ceilings and statuesque front doors to the first floor flats which occupy the older part of the building. All the properties have hardwood floors, fully equipped kitchen with appliances which include washer/dryer, dishwasher, five ring gas hob, oven, extractor and fridge freezer among other things.
And the finish to both the bathrooms and kitchens is modern and pristine. Bathrooms and en suites have contemporary fitted white sanitary ware with oblong wash hand basins, good-sized showers, heated towel rails and tiling. Good size windows, terraces to duplexes and L-shaped balconies to penthouses, meanwhile, allow their owners to enjoy panoramic views of the city to the Cavehill.
And to add to the sense of community here there is a well-equipped air-conditioned gym with a roof terrace. Again there are fantastic views from the fifth floor vantage point, yet privacy for other residents has been retained. The communal areas have a carpet which was specially-commissioned by Ulster Carpets to create a design which commemorates the building's bread-making past.
The Bakery represents a new generation of city accommodation with its integration of old and new. And during the first release owner occupiers were given priority to buy here.
There are currently no homes available for sale at The Bakery, but with its industrial heritage very much part of the city, it is set to become one of the most coveted addresses in Belfast being just minutes from the city centre and other attractions.
