Tahiti to bid au revoir to Rocklands

Epsom's former stately home, Rocklands, built in the 1860s by Thomas Gillies was the third stately home in the area. Photo / Supplied

The controversial French Polynesian ownership of Rocklands, one of Epsom's earliest and surviving grand mid-Victorian century mansions, looks like coming to an end under a hammer this month.

The stately home was the third to be built in then rural area of Epsom in the mid 1800s and was the family home of lawyer, politician and Supreme Court judge Thomas Gillies whose name lives on in Gillies Avenue.

Rocklands, at 187 Gillies Avenue, is being offered for sale in Colliers International's latest National Portfolio along with several adjoining buildings forming a complex that operates as a 149-bed short term stay hostel now running at an average annual occupancy rate of about 70 per cent a year.

The property will be auctioned at 11am on Wednesday, August 25, at Collier's Auckland offices at 151 Queen St and is being marketed by Tim Lichtenstein and Tony Allsop.

While the 895sq m homestead still stands on its original freehold 8882sq m site, its four residential blocks were added in the 1970s, originally to provide accommodation for students.

The buildings consist of single room accommodation with an average room size of around 8sq m with shared bathroom facilities and common recreation areas.

The original house contains the main reception area, management offices, ballroom, gym, lounge, internet rooms and manager's flat. The four other separate centrally heated buildings contain the mainstay of the single bedrooms with shared facilities. The property also has 47 on-site car parks. To the rear of the homestead is a large kitchen and lounge.

The common room block behind the homestead is approximately 400sq m, with the four additional blocks comprising Wiren House at 781sq m, Volkerling House 514sq m, Rae House 1063sq m and Gillies House 423sq m.

For the year ended March 31, 2010, the property produced gross annual revenue of about $711,000, returning approximately $272,000 net before management fees were deducted. This, says Allsop, represents a great opportunity to develop the earning potential for the site.

"The property can continue to be operated as a hostel to provide holding income while plans are put in place to either subdivide or redevelop the site," says Allsop, adding that only 145 rooms are used for accommodation, with four rooms currently used for storage.

"The house was purchased by the French Polynesian Government in 2006 with plans to turn the homestead into the New Zealand embassy for Tahiti," says Allsop. "However, the plans never got off the ground and the property is now for sale. Tahitian governance requires the sale of public assets through public auction so we are following this method."

When the Government of French Polynesia purchased Rocklands and the hostel buildings for $7.6 million it required Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approval. At that time the OIO said the Government of French Polynesia proposed to buy the property "to host official functions and to establish a presence in New Zealand to encourage ties between French Polynesia and New Zealand".

According to an article in LaSpecula.com International News Weekly, the property was purchased by pro-independence territorial President Oscar Temaru to create the first embassy for a yet-to-be independent Tahiti Nui, while the hostel was to become offices and a motel for Tahitians who required medical treatment in New Zealand.

After Temaru subsequently lost his presidency in a no-confidence vote, the new government of President Gaston Tong Sang decided to sell it.

Tahiti's treasurer was asked to investigate the purchase of Rocklands and Temaru then threatened a libel suit against the Tong Sang Government after the weekly Papeete magazine L'Hebdo described the acquisition of the Epsom estate as "financial madness" and "a catastrophe displaying amateurism".

Ex-president Temaru defended the original purchase expressing the hope that the Tong Sang Government "would not commit foolishness by reselling the building".

The property was placed on the market for sale through Colliers International by expressions of interest closing on November 18, 2008, but another change of government in Tahiti saw it withdrawn from sale.

"However, the vendor is now committed to selling the property and this is another reason for its sale by auction," Allsop says.

Lichtenstein says Rocklands will appeal to an astute investor who can see the long-term value in purchasing an unusually big land holding in the sought-after Epsom neighbourhood.

"The property's size and proximity to Newmarket and Mt Eden makes it valuable either as an investment property, utilising the short-term stay facilities, or as a land bank for future subdivision and development along with the restoration of the homestead.

"The property could be restored to its former glory, with the rest of the site subdivided or re-worked for alternate use, subject to resource consent."

Lichtenstein says that buyers will most likely include developers, land bankers, accommodation or medical providers or private hospitals. "This is a great opportunity for someone looking to add value to a property in a prime real estate area, and/or recreate the glory of this historic homestead as a challenging but rewarding project, and/or develop it into a private surgical hospital or boutique hotel."

Rocklands as an accommodation business is advertised as "a purpose-built hostel and historic mansion set in 2.5 acres of impressive trees and a parkland setting - perfect for students, international backpackers and professional single workers".

It is almost next door to the Auckland College of Education, and close to English language schools, tertiary institutions and Auckland's motorway access ramps.

The location is ideal for its student and working guests with downtown Auckland only a 12-minute bus ride away, while the busy retail centres of Newmarket and Mt Eden are within easy walking distances.

The rooms are centrally heated and furnished with a set of bed linen. Additional facilities offered guests include: free broadband internet service, an attractive barbecue area with outdoor dining tables, limited secure off-road parking, multi-level security including live-in management, a large self-contained kitchen, Sky TV lounge, commercial washers and dryers.

In respect of potential redevelopment, Rocklands comes under the Auckland City Council's Residential 2A zoning which is a special character or heritage zone, common within inner city suburbs including Epsom and nearby Remuera. The minimum site area under formal subdivision is 1000sq m or, under cross lease subdivision, the density is one dwelling per 1000sq m of gross site area. Maximum building height is 10 metres and building coverage is limited to 25 per cent.

"A number of other alternative uses can also be considered, given the range of buildings on the site. These include a hospital, healthcare centre, church, rest-home or school - although these would require resource consent," says Lichtenstein.

He points out that Gillies Avenue has emerged over the past 30 years as an enclave for medical specialists. "Along with Remuera Road, Gillies Avenue is an area that appeals to the medical fraternity and Rocklands could quite possibly be used for bigger institutions, such as a private hospital or retirement facility. There is certainly the room for a substantial facility, attractive gardens and easy access.

Nearby is Brightside, a high-tech four-theatre hospital, catering to 5000 patients a year; Endoscopy Auckland and Southern Cross Hospital.

Residential values for surrounding properties tend to be within the middle to upper tier of the market and the property is zoned for both Auckland Boys Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar schools. Nearby private schools also include St Cuthbert's College and Diocesan School for Girls.

Non-complying commercial entities are not out of the question with a childcare business set up on land that was originally part of Rocklands. A number of service industries having been established along and around Gillies Avenue in the former homes of Auckland's gentry or in newer premises established on properties that once carried stately homes.

Rocklands property is set back from Gillies Avenue and is located between Owens Rd and Epsom Avenue. Access is from two entrances on Gillies Avenue and the main entrance has an impressive tree-lined drive.

The mansion and its gardens were a passion for Judge Thomas Gillies. He arrived with his family in Dunedin at the end of 1852 from Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Although trained as a lawyer, Gillies ran a family farm at Tokomairiro with two of his brothers until he bought his own block at Warepa.

When his father was made a magistrate, Gillies was offered a half share in his legal practice and went to Dunedin in 1957. After his wife's death and birth of his fourth child in 1865, Gillies left Dunedin for Auckland and within a year had established a law practice, bought two pieces of Epsom land totalling about 2.8 hectares and built the 26-room Rocklands. Apart from the house, Rocklands was notable for its garden. Gillies imported many plants and a variety of exotic trees.

After Gillies died in 1889, the Rocklands property was sold to James Thomson who had purchased Kawau Island from Sir George Grey. Thomson added a tower, ballroom and verandah, but his daughters remembered Rocklands as being a lonely place to live because it was difficult to travel on Epsom's unlit country roads at night.

By 1912 Rocklands had been converted to Willesden Private Hospital. It underwent another change in 1921 when the Auckland Education Board took over the property as a hostel for women students at the nearby Teachers' Training College.

The original house has an Historic Places Trust Category One listing and a Category B listing under the Auckland City Council's District Plan.