ON OFFER:
One- to three-bed freehold apartments, with between one and three bathrooms, ranging in size from 45sq m to 137sq m. Most have balconies, most have one to two car parks, a couple have studies.
PRICE GUIDE:
1-bed from $427,500, 2-bed from $650,000, 3-bed from $915,000.
INSPECT:
Show home open by appointment at 260 Khyber Pass Rd, Grafton.
SCHOOL ZONES:
Newmarket School, Auckland Normal Intermediate, double Grammar.
CONTACT:
Maria Salmon, Ockham Residential, 027 274 0573.
A Khyber Pass apartment building named after a Greek mathematician offers a new vendor finance package which may help the numbers stack up for some buyers.
Construction is under way on Hypatia, expected to be finished around September 2016. It's named after one of the first notable female mathematicians of ancient history. Developers Ockham Group felt the title fitted given Grafton's strong ties to the University of Auckland.
It continues a pattern of naming buildings after critical thinkers such as their Grey Lynn apartments, The Isaac and The Turing Building.
Mark Todd and Ben Preston of Ockham Investments became good friends studying mathematics at university. In 2009 they launched Ockham Residential and the Ockham Foundation, an education-based charity encouraging critical thought, independent thinking and fostering a sense of social justice primarily through granting scholarships. Ockham is well-funded, thanks to Ben's background as a US-based investment banker, and Hypatia is a joint venture between Ockham Residential and Ockham Foundation.
This is the first time Ockham's offered a vendor finance package.
Mark says: "This model only works in the charitable sphere; the big benefit of a charitable foundation is that there's no income tax to pay."
The finance package is available on one third of Hypatia's 59 apartments, and allows buyers to borrow up to 15 per cent of the purchase price interest free for up to 10 years.
Borrowers can repay the loan at any time, repaying whichever is greater; the original loan amount or 15 per cent of the value of the apartment at the time of repayment. A term loan agreement and disclosure statement detailing the package is on Ockham's website.
Mark says they may need to offer the package for the next few developments for the public to become used to it.
Image 1 of 4: Named after a Greek mathematician, Hypatia offers an innovative financial package
"The advantage for us is that we will be able to sell large-scale projects quickly," he says.
He envisages various situations it'll appeal in. For example, an owner could use the package to get a 60 per cent bank mortgage rather than a 75 per cent one, thereby reducing their overall mortgage repayment cost. It could also reduce the amount of deposit needed.
Ockham's company philosophy is to develop beautiful buildings that sit well in their neighbourhood and improve the local environment.
Historically, the site at 246 Khyber Pass Rd was home to many Maori tribes, so Ockham worked with Maori Art designer Reuben Kirkwood to create decorative Maori patterning that will feature prominently on the building's exterior.
Mark says: "I think the public will love this building with all its patterned in situ concrete."
Hypatia is double-Grammar zoned, up the road from Newmarket in the university and medical school precinct. It's close to the Domain and transport links include Grafton train station.
The reinforced concrete, steel and brick building on Khyber Pass and Huntly Ave will have six levels of apartments, a pool and spa complex, two basement parking levels, a cafe and a couple of commercial premises.
Two wings flank an internal courtyard opening to the sky on the fourth level and many apartments have balconies. The high-stud apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows and heat pumps range from one to three bedrooms. Kitchens have engineered stone benchtops, marble-tiled splash-backs, Smeg appliances and European oak flooring.
The showroom -- 100m down the road from where Hypatia is being built -- opens tomorrow but a third of the apartments are already under contract. These include a $1 million one using Ockham's new vendor finance package.
