"People who are looking to get out of their 100-year-old villa and their 100-year-old problems that go with it," he says. "By exiting their 100-year-old villas to come here they will still have money in their back pocket."
The existing building at 9 Hopetoun St already has 16 apartments onthe upper five levels. The 27 new apartments will be on the lower four floors, which had been in commercial use. These will be reconfigured as two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments with floor-to-ceiling double glazing and balconies with glass hand rails.
"These apartments have a connection with Ponsonby," says Darryl. "The villas, the park across the road and the trees. We are building homes for people; it is not just an apartment block."
He says the southern end of Ponsonby, just 100m up the road, has become more vibrant and, with the development of Vinegar Lane, there will be more apartments, shops and cafes in the area.
"The point of difference here is the pricing includes two car parks for each apartment ...
Image 1 of 3: Boutique apartments with top-of-the-range appliances are in sought-after suburb
"And we have two guest suites which sleep four people and can be used by the 27 owners of the new apartments who automatically get 27 nights. There will be a cleaning cost and apartment owners not using their nights can put them into a pool for other owners to use. And because the building has had an existing body corp for 30 years, we already know the costs of living here are accurate."
Seventeen of the 27 apartments have been sold off the plans. Apartments still available range in price from early $800,000s to $1.5 million; and are 88sq m to 110sq m plus decks. "They have a very good standard of finish, precision-built Poggenpohl kitchens from Germany and people can bespoke their kitchens," says Darryl. "The integrated appliances are Sholtes from France."
Flooring is French oak in the kitchen, tiles in the bathrooms and premium carpet in the living and bedrooms. The stud is 2.6m and ceilings have coffers where possible.
"The apartments have balconies," he says. "These are not large but they are satisfactory. We don't want to create large decks and find that encroaches on the indoors living environment."
Work on the new apartment levels begins at the end of this month with completion scheduled for March 2016. The apartments are priced according to size, level and the views. "Being naturally on the ridge, even on ground level you still see water or city views," says Darryl.
The entry foyer will have a library for residents' use, as well as a pool and tennis court shared with an adjacent building.
