Street parking around Griffith Hall, Drumcondra?

woodchuck

I'm trying to find out about street parking around Griffith Hall apartment complex in Drumcondra. The apartment comes with one parking space in the gated part, but I'm finding it hard to find out definitive information about street parking for guests (or for a second car down the line). I would have assumed that the residential street(s) nearby are free, no time limit etc. The letting agent gave the impression that permits were needed, but I'm not sure if he thought we were referring to the gated part. A friend who lives not too far away thinks the street parking is free and a 3 year old thread on here also says that. This obviously contradicts what the agent was saying, but I'm not sure if his knowledge is limited to the complex itself. So does anyone have any more recent or definitive information? Or where could I find this out for sure?

Magzie

Glandore road is free to park on however it does get very congested at the bottom near the apartments.

woodchuck

Magzie wrote: »

Glandore road is free to park on however it does get very congested at the bottom near the apartments.

Great, thanks a million for getting back to me

Would I be right in assuming that the other residential streets around that area are free parking too then? E.g Sion Hill road and Calderwood road?

dubrenter

Hi Woodchuck, did you end up moving here? How is the parking situation?

woodchuck

Hi dubrenter. It was actually my boyfriend who was moving there, so I was wondering about the feasibility of actually being to visit him with my car or if all going well if I was to move in down the line He has moved in and while I've only actually driven over a handful of times, parking doesn't seem to be an issue. You'd be hard pushed to get parking just outside Griffith Hall as it always seems very busy/full (and still not sure if those spots require permits anyway), but there is plenty of room to park just around the corner. This is the part of glandore road that leads onto sion hill road if you look at google maps. Haven't had any issues finding parking there to date anyway And it's just an extra minute or so to walk to the gates of Griffith Hall. I just make sure not to block anyones driveway etc!

dubrenter

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm actually moving in myself there this weekend!

Was just keen to talk to someone who lives there.
What does he/you think of the complex and apartments themselves? They seem nice but hard to tell until you're actually living there! Any feedback is much appreciated

whiskeyman

I viewed in there before.
Didn't take it as took somewhere more suitable, but they were really nice.
Location is lovely.
I'd say you're paying a high price for it!
Best of luck and enjoy. Nice to be in somewhere new for Christmas.

woodchuck

Yeah they're pretty nice! My boyfriends apartment is big and bright; I'm assuming they're all similar. A balcony too, but you're not allowed dry clothes on it or anything. Generally the people seem nice enough, no issues with noisy neighbours or anything anyway! The 123 bus is right outside to get into town. There's a small shop just down the road for essentials, but you'd want to go further afield for a bigger shop (there's a big tesco and lidl about 10 min drive away). There are a few cats that hang around the apartments... a plus for me, but I guess that depends on whether or not you like cats

All in all it's a good spot

dubrenter

Thanks for both of your feedback! Looking forward to getting in now Not a cat lover unfortunately ha but I'm used to them hanging around my current place! As long as they keep rodents away, I'm happy!

Thanks again.

lorkeeney

Hi All,

I am looking to purchase an apartment in this complex and was hoping for some recent updates on what it is like?

I talked to one lady and she said there are a lot of families and I noticed quite a bit of toys around. Is it generally ok for noise? Safety? Cleanliness?

Any help would be reply appreciated!!

woodchuck

lorkeeney wrote: »

Hi All,

I am looking to purchase an apartment in this complex and was hoping for some recent updates on what it is like?

I talked to one lady and she said there are a lot of families and I noticed quite a bit of toys around. Is it generally ok for noise? Safety? Cleanliness?

Any help would be reply appreciated!!

Hi, I moved in there earlier this year

Generally speaking I find it very safe and quiet! And yes, there are a lot of families around with young kids. They were playing outside a lot during the summer, but they weren't excessively noisy or anything.

It's a nice area and the 123 bus stops right outside which is really handy. There are local shops (newsagent, very small supermarket, butchers, pharmacy etc) a short walk away. Larger supermarkets (Lidl and Tesco) are about a 10/15 minute drive away.

I remember once there was a notice up about an attempted break-in, but you could get that anywhere and I haven't heard of any issues since. There was also one night where there was a gang of teenagers hanging around outside the gates late one evening, but again that seems to be an isolated incident.

If you want to know anything else in particular, just let me know!


Parking update if anyone is interested: while there is on-street parking just outside the complex, once I moved in I was finding it far too stressful every time I drove not knowing if I'd get a spot and/or if I'd end up getting boxed in. There is technically plenty of room to park on the road around the corner, however one of the neighbours politely told me she'd prefer if I didn't park there :rolleyes: So in the end I got rid of my car, and we just share the one car and one parking space. There are some visitor parking spaces too, you just text a number and you can park there for up to 24 hours and you can do this twice a week (the clampers do come around!).

lorkeeney

Thanks so much - really helps to hear first hand what its like.

I am quite concerned about how many kids there might be - are we talking alot??

Do you find the apartments warm and quiet?

woodchuck

In terms of kids... it's really more noticeable in the summer. Like I said, they play outside a bit. But I wouldn't say there are a lot of them. At a guess there might be up to half a dozen playing outside at any given time when there's nice weather (obviously there would be more kids in total though). They're very well behaved though and haven't been a bother! The type of people who live there aren't the type to let their kids run wild. It's a nice neighbourhood in terms of the people who live there!

We haven't really had any trouble with noise so far. We have new neighbours and occasionally they'll play their music loud enough for us to hear, but even then if we have the tv on it drowns it out. I think that's just them being extra noisy occassionally though as opposed to the walls being thin. We never heard a peep from the previous neighbours! I think who you have as a neighbour is always going to be risk, but there generally don't seem to be rowdy people around. No wild parties or anything like that.

At the moment our apartment is cooold... but that's because it's gotten Baltic out :P We're probably a bit stingy with the heat too tbh. In the summer it actually gets quite warm! Whatever way our apartment is facing, the sun shines in during the day when we're at work. So when we come home it can be very hot! But I just open some windows to get a draft going and then it's ok (just means you might hear the kids playing outside then!).

On a personal note I wouldn't recommend a ground floor apartment, but that's in general really, not just there. I lived in a ground floor apartment before and there is just less privacy in general as everyone can see into your apartment as you walk by And obviously it would be less safe too.

dubrenter

Hi Lorkeeney,

I did move in(renting) and am still here! I imagine that like any apartment block, there are pro's and cons. Personally I wouldn't be mad on buying an apartment now that I've lived in one. I'm on the ground floor and new tenants(group of students)moved in this term. So that has been a bit annoying. Before that, we never heard anything but now the general noise(footsteps/moving around) etc is constant.

In general, majority of people here seem nice. Plenty of children playing in Summer but not a factor not to buy, I don't think. Safety - never had any issues with the apartment itself but my boyfriends bike was stolen from the underground carpark about a month after we moved in. It was locked securely but they managed to take it. Since then, he's never left a bike there and things have been fine.
I'm not sure if different people are in charge of the blocks or who you might be dealing with, but the property management who look after our block haven't been great to deal with. Again, the reason she might not take my complaints/queries seriously is because I'm not the Landlord. We did contact her over the rubbish(old kids toys, bikes, clothes horse etc) blocking the stairwell early this year. I followed up again but got no response. We have contacted her over noise complaints but got no joy from her on this either.

The heating is underfloor and bills are cheap but I find that it can be difficult to heat some rooms - the kitchen/living area. Cleanliness - never had an issue with the grounds but the bins in the carpark do fill up quickly and can look dirty.

Sorry if I've been overly negative! Location is great and overall I think a good place to be. Just think it's important for you to know the ins and outs of it all!

lorkeeney

Hi Guys,

Thank you so much for your replies, I really appreciate it.

Its really hard to make a decision especially when buying. The management fee is high so I would have expected a higher standard. I also noticed that the underground carpark was not that well looked after and that a lot of bikes looked to be abandoned/attempted theft perhaps? It is disappointing to hear the management company have not been overly helpful. I would consider this very important.

Do you think they are mainly rented?

I dont know what to do!!

Lorraine

woodchuck

I agree about the bins actually, but I don't think they're worse than most places really. There are also some cats that hang out down there though, but I like cats, so that's a plus for me

Touch wood we haven't had any trouble with the car. Neither of us have a bike though and presumably they're an easier target.

I couldn't tell you if they're mostly rented or not. We rent. I have seen people with pets though, so I'd assume they own.

lorkeeney

what about barking dogs? Is that a thing? I dont know if you have noticed but Im particular sensitive to noise! l really need to live in the country
If i ever do make it to Griffith Hall I will have to find ye and drop off a box of chocs!

woodchuck

I've never noticed any dogs barking. But again, it could just be down to the luck of who is living next to you

odyssey06

You will hear jets in the distance at the moment in D3/D9 while airport runway works are going on, or basically anytime the 'cross winds' runway is in use. And the works are happening during the night

I thought I would mention it if you are very sensitive.

The flight path for the cross winds runway sends them over Artane, Killester, Clontarf, Dun Laoghaire so it would defo bother you in those locations I think; but there will be some background noise spillover to Marino, Fairview, Drumcondra.

woodchuck

odyssey06 wrote: »

You will hear jets in the distance at the moment in D3/D9 while airport runway works are going on, or basically anytime the 'cross winds' runway is in use. And the works are happening during the night

I thought I would mention it if you are very sensitive.

The flight path for the cross winds runway sends them over Artane, Killester, Clontarf, Dun Laoghaire so it would defo bother you in those locations I think; but there will be some background noise spillover to Marino, Fairview, Drumcondra.

I can't say I've noticed this Maybe I've heard the odd plane go overhead, but nothing out of the ordinary. And I'd consider myself a light enough sleeper.

We do seem to be on a flight path for geese though :P I hear/see them flying overhead, late morning at the weekends (don't know the exact time, but never early enough to wake me and I like to sleep in!).