SCHOOL ZONES:
Newton Central Primary, Ponsonby Intermediate, Auckland Grammar, Auckland Girls’ Grammar.
CONTACT:
Heather Walton and Rae Zhang, Ray White, 021 432 167 or 215 8662 (Heather) or 021 629 912 or 638 8640 (Rae).
*Carparks start at $20,000 and rise to $169,000 for a double garage and storage.
There's a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from breathing new life into an office building that's seen better days.
Mike McCombie knows this first hand because his property development company, Balanced Investments, has tackled many conversions, turning buildings in need of a little TLC into stylish apartments.
"I love seeing the end result, and how something that had a very different purpose can become really great homes," says Mike, whose interest in property development began over 35 years ago when, as a 19-year-old, he bought his first house.
The company does both residential and commercial makeovers, and his latest project is the transformation of a former 1980s office building in Whitaker Place, Grafton, into 80 spacious and contemporary apartments.
A previous owner of the building had been planning to turn it into student accommodation, but Mike could see that it had so much more potential.
"I went and had a look at the building and when I saw the size I thought, 'This is great'," says Mike. "That's what really appealed to me, the fact you could make each of the apartments nice and big -- 90sqm for two bedrooms and 60sqm for some one bedroom ones. Having that kind of space is a real luxury -- a lot of apartments these days are much smaller.
"The previous owner was open to us taking over, which we've done. But instead of being student accommodation we have up-specced it to a higher level."
The apartments feature high quality fixtures and fittings, fully tiled bathrooms and sleek kitchens with stone bench tops.
"We wanted to get some wow factor in there and I think the design team have achieved that. It is definitely worth spending money on good design and finishing touches," says Mike.
Image 1 of 3: This former office block has been converted into luxury apartments. Photos / Supplied
Features include a crisp white colour scheme, plenty of storage, heat pumps/air conditioning and in some apartments, clever glazed partitions that switch from transparent to opaque at the flick of a switch.
Large floor-to-ceiling windows frame the views, which include looking out at the Auckland Domain and the harbour. The windows also allow plenty of light in.
"The outlook from the building is really good, which is something else I liked, along with the elevation," says Mike. "You get some really great views."
The location also has great appeal. Whitaker Place is a quiet no-exit street off Symonds Street, so there's no through traffic. It's just 450m to Auckland University, and 1km to Auckland Hospital, so is likely to appeal to staff at both places. It's also only an 11 minute walk to Queen Street, and the Auckland Domain and the ASB Tennis Centre are also easily accessible.
Because the apartments have been created in an existing building, construction costs are a lot lower than you get with a new build, and these savings can be passed on to the purchasers. "They are really good value for money," says Mike.
And unlike other developments where you buy off the plans and only have mock-ups of parts of the apartments to look at in a display suite, some of the apartments at Whitaker Place Central have been finished and can be viewed.
The housing shortage in Auckland means apartment living will become more commonplace, and buyers want higher standards, Mike says. "People's tastes are much more sophisticated and they have high expectations. We want to do apartments that people are very happy to live in and will appreciate, and also that we are proud of. I hope our buyers will enjoy living there."
