Thornsett Group

Brussels Sprouts Into Covet League

In the recent 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Brussels ranked fourth on the list of European cities. Coming just behind Vienna, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, the home of the European Parliament beat the more obvious hotspots of Paris, London, Madrid and Rome.

Irish property development company Thornsett Group has unveiled a new residential development in the Belgian capital, that will appeal to both owner occupiers and investors and is much better value than most schemes located in Dublin (which, incidentally, ranked eighth on the survey). The development, close to the European parliament, consists of 28 one-, two- and three-bed apartments boasting Smeg kitchen appliances, parquet wooden floors, video entry system and basement storage space.

Located in the Ixelles district of Brussels, the Boniface Square development is made up of three buildings of between four and six storeys.

Properties range in size from 60 sq m to 200 sq m.

Prices start at €185,000 and rise to €700,000 for the largest apartment.

The development also has a 220 sq m ground floor unit for retail or restaurant use and is due for completion in December 2007.

The interiors at Boniface Square are high-spec, modern and contemporary while the exteriors have been designed to match the surrounding 20th century architecture, dating from 1900s to 1930s. Thornsett Group has also bought an €80m site at Rue Belliard, Leopold, close to the Irish EU delegation building, which is due for completion in autumn 2009.