Show units are open today, with one-, two- and three-bed apartments still available.

Castlethorn has been making the headlines recently with its massively successful launch of Adamstown Castle, the first of the new houses to go on sale at Adamstown, the new town being built in west Dublin, near Lucan.

But over the past year, it has also been building an equally important scheme in the Tolka Valley in Dublin 15.

First-time buyers and investors formed the bulk of those who bought apartments and penthouses at The Village when 120 units were launched yesterday by agent Hamilton Osborne King. More than 500 homes have now been sold by Castlethorn at Rathborne since the first phase of the scheme was launched in 2003.

The new town has been designed by O'Mahony Pike, and includes a central plaza with restaurants and shops overlooking the canal, interesting and varied streetscapes, individual buildings with different characters which blend together as a whole, exteriors with a mix of brick, render, cedar and plenty of glazing, as well as, on a more individual level, lots of dual-aspect homes in larger-than-average sizes.

Added to this, Castlethorn's attention to landscaping is helping to soften and mature the overall appearance of this scheme, which radiates out from a village centre.

Overall, Castlethorn is building on 55 acres at Rathborne. The homes stretch along the Royal Canal and, through a completed five-acre park, link up to a second scheme about a mile down the canal. This is Royal Canal Park, which is being built by Ballymore Homes. Altogether, there will be 4,000 homes on the Pelletstown lands, and each development will have a towncentre focal point around which apartments and duplexes are being built.

The latest homes being sold by Hamilton Osborne King for Castlethorn are very much in the central Village zone of Rathborne, which is being built right beside the new Ashtown railway station. This is a busy commuter route, and it takes 18 minutes to get into the city centre.

The homes are in two new buildings called the Tallow and the Waxworks which form part of the commercial hub of the development. The apartments are right beside the central canal-side plaza of the Village where there will be a large supermarket, shops, cafe, restaurants and bars.

Bannon Commercial is handling the sales and lettings of the shops and restaurants.

Ben Brady, sales and marketing manager of Castlethorn says they are close to signing up with a convenience store, while the plans for the pub should be finalised soon.

Some of the apartments on the upper storeys of these six- and eight-storey buildings will have views over the Royal Canal.

A third building in the Village, the Chandler, sold out last year.

The apartments include a mix of one-, two- and three-bed penthouses. The onebeds are from 45-65sq m (484 to 703sq ft) and cost from 275,000; the two-bed apartments are 69-100sq m (748-1,076sq ft) and cost from 365,000, while the three-bed penthouses are from 88-112sm (955 to 1,205sq ft) and these start at 450,000.

These homes have a hall, open-plan living-/diningroom and kitchen with ivory units, an en-suite with the second bedroom and a bathroom with good quality sanitary ware.

Standard features include integrated electrical appliances, a washer dryer in the storage room off the hall, fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms, timber-decked balconies, wall and floor tiling in the bathrooms and one underground parking space.

Ben Brady, marketing and sales manager with Castlethorn, says the company has made a concerted effort to select sites on the basis of their proximity to good transport, shops, schools and the city centre.

"Our focus on the importance of public transport to and from the city centre is evident, " says Brady.

Castlethorn will build a new station at Adamstown Castle, while some of its other developments are near Porterstown and Coomine Railway stations.

Most buyers so far have been first time buyers and young families, says Brady.

Price: 275,000 to 450,000 plus Agent: Hamilton Osborne King, 01-6181300