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It is supposed to be the prime waterfront street in a picturesque Coromandel town. But Whitianga residents are appalled, saying derelict houses, overgrown sections, potholes and cracked footpaths are giving The Esplanade a Third World look.
Two houses that were earmarked for luxury apartment development have gone up for mortgagee sale. Another house stands partly demolished and a large corner section intended for apartment development has been empty for two years.
The empty houses opposite the boat ramp and children's playground are being used as squats and are full of rubbish and rats, according to the Whitianga Residents and Ratepayers Association vice-chairperson, Ada McCallum.
Mrs McCallum told the new Mercury Bay Community Board last week the toilets were not connected but were clearly being used.
A 52-room apartment block was planned for the properties by developer Husain Al Saffaf. Real estate agent Ross Innes said 30 of the apartments were sold but because of Mr Saffaf's financial position, Hanover Finance ordered a mortgagee sale.
Mr Saffaf, who went bankrupt in 2005, is also facing problems with another Whitianga waterfront property, the First Light apartment complex in Victoria St.
The marina-side building is empty and under threat of having its code of compliance revoked following a complaint by 11 buyers to the Department of Building and Housing.
The department issued a draft determination ordering the Thames Coromandel District Council to revoke the code of compliance and require the developer to fix 29 defects in the building.
The council and the developer have requested a hearing on the decision which is scheduled for early February.
Mr Saffaf could not be contacted for comment on the properties.
Just down the road from his Esplanade properties, a two-storey house overlooking Buffalo Beach stands partly demolished.
Mrs McCallum told the board the house was unsightly and dangerous and councillor Dal Minogue agreed. The building would be a likely target for young people over summer, he said.
Since then, the council has been told the upper storey of the building will be relocated by the end of the month and the rest of the building demolished.
Further along The Esplanade on the corner of Mill Rd, the former site of restaurant On The Rocks has been empty for two years.
A sign advertising an apartment development was recently taken down but Maurice Weaver, a director of Whitianga Beachfront, said the development was going ahead and would be relaunched soon as Long Beach Apartments.
He said he had been trying to get council consents for the development for two years and had been told they were in the final stages of being issued.
Although the apartment market had been in a trough, Mr Weaver said, he was confident the three-storey development - which features 29 apartments ranging in price from $550,000 to $1.6 million - would be a success.
