OPTIONS:
A: 2-bed, 1-2 bath apartments, 59–96sq m (plus 6-9sq m deck) from $875,000 including 1 carpark.
B: 2-bed +study, 2-bath apartments, 93sq m (plus 9sq m deck) from $1.45m including 1 carpark.
C: 3-bed +study, 2-bath apartments, 133–137sq m (plus 19sq m deck) from $2.295m including 2 carparks.
D: 3-bed, 3-bath penthouses, 172–180sq m (plus 39-72sq m deck), from mid-$3m including 2 carparks.
E: 3-bed, two-bath townhouses, 113–118sq m (plus 33-41sq m deck) from $1.895m including 2 carparks.
BODY CORP:
From $2737 a year
INSPECT:
Onsite display suite open noon to 3pm daily or by appointment
SCHOOL ZONES:
Newton Central School, Kowhai Intermediate, Western Springs College, AGGs
CONTACT:
Matt O'Rourke, Ryan Harding or Louise Stringer, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 375 909 (Matt), 021 621 580 (Ryan) or 021 628 839 (Louise)
Developer David Southcombe used to live with his wife, kids, two cats and a dog at the Grey Lynn location his new Crest development will rise from, so he knows the spot inside and out.
David, the director of Maidstone Group, says: "It's at the highest point of the Grey Lynn ridge with unobstructed views. It's northeast facing so it gets sun all day. You look out to the Waitemata and the sunsets are amazing. You can watch the weather sweeping in from the Waitakeres. And it's five minutes to everything."
He bought the former textile warehouse, which will be replaced by Crest, in 2007. He initially converted some of it into commercial premises and lived for several years in another portion with wife Aja Rock when their brood of four children was only two-strong.
Steel scaffolding stairs jutting up from the onsite display suite enable potential buyers to check out the views for themselves, knowing the top platform is not quite at the height Level One will be.
The development, designed by architect Paul Brown, will offer 49 freehold dwellings including five two-storey townhouses fitting within the height-to-boundary restrictions along the site's northern face.
Five levels of apartments topping ground floor commercial will make up the bulk of the building, organised around a central light well.
David says: "That will go right through the middle of the building and feature a living wall. You will walk out of the lifts and encounter this natural light shaft beaming in."
He paid little heed when wife Aja initially suggested the name Crest only to later have the same name presented by a big-name branding company he'd commissioned. "I had to eat a big serving of humble pie," he says.
Value-wise, about 20 per cent of Crest's stock sold within the first couple of weeks of marketing starting in early July. There's been strong interest from locals in standalone homes looking to downsize plus free themselves from maintenance.
Crest is being sold off the plans with buyers having the reassurance of seeing Southcombe's other Paul Brown-designed development "North" well under way across the road, scheduled for January 2017 completion.
David says: "I've known Paul for about 15 years and I really rate his work. His firm has expertise in supplying excellent architecture combined with the detail and complexity of design and construction of multi-storey projects."
David's mother must agree: she's moving into North.
Crest will be concrete with lots of glass, strong vertical timber fins and steel cross bracing giving it a slightly industrial aesthetic.
Apartment specifications include Miele appliances, engineered timber floors, large format showers, Grohe tapware and either ducted air-conditioning or designer series heat pumps. About 60 per cent of Crest dwellings have fully functional separate sculleries.
David says: "There's no quicker way to kill a dinner party in my view than to jump up and start doing the dishes. Here they can be put out of the way in the scullery."
Three sizeable top-level penthouses, which have double-sided fireplaces and home automation systems, are priced from mid-$3-million. Basement carparking off Turakina St incorporates storage units and bike racks.
Like North, Crest is a SHA (Special Housing Area) given fast-track status in return for providing 10 per cent of dwellings at prices under Auckland region's median to qualifying first-home buyer-occupiers.
Maidstone Group is marketing this portion of one-bedroom dwellings, not detailed in this article, privately.
