Wealthy buyers move in

A group of well-heeled Kiwis have moved into their multi-million-dollar, cliff-edge Parnell apartments in the Prime Minister's street but one owner has failed to settle and will walk away from a sizeable deposit.

The $3.5 million apartment is back on the market while other owners in the White Heron Point development, including PGG Wrightson chief executive Craig Norgate, V8 racing guru Mark Petch and former Auckland mayor and breakfast cereal businessman Dick Hubbard, are busy moving in.

Travis Coffey, development manager for Equinox Group which developed the site, would not say who had failed to settle but Herald on Sunday sources say it was a Herne Bay businessman.

The three-bedroom, three-bathroom luxury apartment is one of 19 built on the site of the old White Heron Hotel in St Stephens Ave, the leafy street where Prime Minister John Key has his $7.3 million home.

Three of the four penthouses have sold and settled, and the remaining penthouse is on the market for $4.15 million. Norgate paid about $6 million for one of the penthouses while Hubbard and Petch paid about $5 million for theirs.

Petch and his wife Bobi spent most of last week gradually moving into the apartment from their former home, which is next door to White Heron Point. Petch said they had redesigned the layout of their four-bedroom penthouse to allow for three large bedrooms, each with large en suites. He was delighted with the result, he said.

"Every single element in the apartment was specified by us."

The site, next to Pt Resolution Park above the Parnell Baths, has wide views of the harbour, Judges Bay and the city.

Last year, 33 mature and native trees in the area were deliberately poisoned and killed. Equinox Group denied any involvement and said it had spent considerable time and money assisting the council with its inquiries.