KEY POINTS:
WATERLINE APARTMENTS
158 MARSDEN RD, PAIHIA
The views don't come much better than the Waterline's. Sliding back your master bedroom New Yorker door panels, you can ease back into bed, a latte on your bedside cabinet, and soak in the view out past the pohutukawa on the beach,
Waitangi on your left, Russell to the right and then over Ti Bay out to the wide, open sea.
The Paihia apartments are across the road from the beach, just before you turn the corner to go on to Haruru Falls and Kerikeri. Paihia's shops and cafes are just a five-minute walk away. The golf course is close, too, about five minutes' drive.
Mike Osborne, developer with Marsden Cottage Limited, chose the site for its residential zoning on Paihia's waterfront. "Ti Bay is a sunny, warm spot with its own microclimate."
The company is named after the landmark cottage that was here before the apartments were built and was moved, intact, to another site in Northland.
Mike says the site could have been developed on a much larger scale but he wanted to see the bay protected from large-scale commercial development, keeping the residential market separate from the main tourist and commercial sector around the corner.
Development was limited to four floors, using contemporary concrete and steel construction, with neutral colours to complement the landscape.
The apartments were designed by Ian Butt of HB Architecture in Whangarei, with his brief being to make the most of the 180-degree views.
There are eight apartments, two on each floor, layouts being mirror images. You enter from the stairs or lift into the common corridor and then through the door of your apartment. You walk into the hallway with a bedroom and bathroom off to one side, depending on whether you are on the west or east side of the building; then a third bedroom or office and into the open-plan living, dining and kitchen area. The master bedroom and en suite are accessed off this living area, by the sandblasted New Yorker door sliders which recess into the wall cavity. Slide shut for privacy, open to enjoy the view out to the bay.
The living area and bedrooms are carpeted, with pressed bamboo flooring in the kitchen and tiles with under-floor heating in the bathrooms. Decor is neutral with tea shades on walls and alabaster ceilings. The kitchen has composite granite benchtops and cabinetry by Johannes Erren Cabinetmakers, with stainless steel F&P appliances (flat cooktop, oven, double dish drawer and oversized fridge). The laundry is in a cupboard off the hallway.
Floor-to-ceiling ranchsliders and oversized windows feature 11mm thick sound-stop glazing which cuts almost all road noise. The curved decks have frameless glass balustrades, and louvres that can be locked in place, either for private dining or extra security.
The north-facing apartments capture the warmth from the natural light; plus there is a gas fire and two heat pumps.
The gated complex is accessed from a code key pad at the driveway entrance, with undercover tandem parking for two cars and a storage locker. The shared garden area is low-maintenance with Tahitian pohutukawa planted at the rear. Ground-floor buyers have a lawned area for their use only, and which they maintain.
Real estate agent Irene Bremner says the lock-and-leave luxury apartments "really would suit everyone. They can be full-time residences, a holiday home or a base for a retired couple. They would be good for overseas people wanting to secure beachfront in New Zealand or the 55-plus bracket with the kids gone, who like to travel and have a base that is secure and low-maintenance".
Matina Vivian is the project's general manager. She says those who have already bought include an Australian wanting a holiday base, a local resident, an Auckland buyer who has bought as investment and the fourth is another intending to use the apartment as a holiday base.
Matina says the beauty of the Waterline apartments is that they are easy to live in. "They're just lovely. There isn't much to do. Your free time is yours to enjoy."
SIZE: Approx 127sq m each.
PRICE INDICATION: Ground-level units 1 and 2: $1.45 million. Unit 3: $1.525 million. Unit 5: $1.575 million. Body corporate fees not yet set, expected to be around $3000pa.
INSPECTION TIMES: Daily 11am-3pm.
ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz #313391.
CONTACT: Irene Bremner, Bayleys, ph 021 190 2090 or (09) 407 9221.
FEATURES: Freehold lock-up-and-leave apartments at Paihia, just across the road from Ti Bay (or Locals' Bay).
Spectacular views of the bay, Russell and Waitangi.
