Dannemora

BY CHARLOTTE COSSAR

Dannemora, which is bordered by Howick and Whitford, was just a design concept nine years ago. With the oldest areas of the suburb only being about seven years old, this popular area is still a baby but developing fast. The speed with which the landscape is changing is incredible. Gone is the rolling farmland and in its place are many large and medium-sized family homes with attractive street frontages and landscaped gardens.

It is predicted that when the area has been completely developed it will have a population of 52,000.

Similar in feel to Australian developments such as Brisbane's Forest Lakes, this suburb has been carefully planned to make living here easy. All the houses are built to a strict covenant, including a quality and size clause as well as front fences not exceeding 1m. This fence rule gives the area an open and friendly feel. Most of the streets, many of them being crescents or cul-de-sacs, have walkways connecting them. And strip lanes off the main thoroughfares make access to these suburban streets safe.

The advantages of living in this new, self-contained community include the new schools - primary, intermediate and secondary (due for completion soon) - day cares, medical centres, churches and the shopping.

Botany Town Centre is one of the biggest shopping complexes in the Southern Hemisphere. Designed like a village, it is a destination. It is easy to while away the day walking down the lanes full of designer and mainstream shops. It has successfully combined smaller chain stores with the larger department-style shops, and there are two supermarkets. Although it is often hard for non-locals to find a park on the weekends, residents of Dannemora needn't compete. It is just a hop, skip and a jump from most of their homes.

It is easy to understand why people are attracted to this area. Not only are there good schools, excellent shopping and modern housing, the suburb is a great place to mix with other families, and children are never short of a friend to play with.

Attracted by the ease of lifestyle of new homes, Dannemora residents don't have to spend all weekend working on their home or section - unless, of course, they wish to, instead these folk can spend their weekends doing whatever takes their fancy.

AMENITIES

As well as the above mentioned, Dannemora is close to the eastern beaches, a golf course and has great reserves and sporting facilities, including a swimming pool, hockey, rugby, soccer, cricket and athletics fields.

HOUSE PRICES

There is a range of properties in Dannemora, including apartments, townhouses, three- and four-bedroom homes, larger homes, home and income, properties with extensive views and lifestyle properties.

So what would you pay to live here? For an apartment you can expect to pay about $225,000, a townhouse $350,000, a three-bedroom home $350,000, four bedrooms $420,000, five bedrooms $600,000 and a lifestyle property or a palatial home about $800,000 plus (these are average prices).

The most sought-after locations are those in the Point View Primary and Willowbank School zones, properties high on the hill with extensive views and ones close to Botany Town Centre.