Top location's true original

8 Lucerne Rd, Remuera, Auckland. Photo / Geoff Dale

108 LUCERNE RD REMUERA

4

1

1

SIZE: Land 1336sq m, house 211sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Above CV of $2.36 million. Tender closes Wed, April 6, 5pm.

INSPECT: Saturday 2-3pm, Sunday 3-4pm or phone for appointment.

ON THE WEB: barfoot.co.nz/450044

SCHOOL ZONES: Meadowbank Primary and Intermediate, Glendowie College and Selwyn College. Transport to several private schools.

CONTACT: Andrew or Cathy McAlpine, ph 021 968 809 (Andrew) or 0274 968 809 (Cathy), Barfoot & Thompson Remuera, ph 524 0149.

FEATURES: Original Arts and Crafts home features fine craftsmanship but would benefit from restoration. On large site on Lucerne Rd ridgeline with possibilities for development.

Phil Keenan reckons his grandmother was the epitome of a strong woman. Widowed with a three-month-old baby in the 1920s, Ivy Donald started up a shoe shop and then a sweet shop in central Auckland before selling both to build a panelbeating shop in Wakefield St after marrying her childhood sweetheart.

Together they bought this section in Lucerne Rd. It was the size (1336sq m) that won them over, for both were keen gardeners. And rather than build their GW Harvey-designed Arts and Crafts house on the part of the section that would maximise views, they built two glasshouses on the area with the best view. The views over Orakei Basin and back to the city were something they could appreciate while they tended the plants or stopped for a cuppa.

Phil remembers the glasshouses being full of passionfruit, cucumbers, grapes and tomatoes. Plus they planted the phoenix palm that stands sentry at the section front, while two majestic pohutukawa frame the view at the back.

Phil's father Bill inherited the house. Phil has fond memories of growing up here and says it was comforting knowing the home was always there for him, even during his flatting years and OE. "When I was in Standard Four at Meadowbank Primary, I could look out the classroom door, down the hallway and, if the headmaster had his door open, I could see out his window to where my house was."

He reels off neighbours' names from when he was a boy - those were the days when people tended to stay in their homes longer.

So it is with mixed emotions that he has the home, in his family since the early 1930s, on the market. Phil's sister died in the Erebus crash, his father in 1989 and his mother Joan some 18 months ago, and Phil says he just hasn't got the money to stay on and do justice to the home. "And it's time to move on," he says.

If he did have the means, he would paint the exterior, renovate the bathroom and toilet and do up and extend the kitchen into the porch area. He would love to see a new owner restore and improve the home, but realises, with the section's prime position, the house may be sacrificed if the property could be subdivided.

The property is being marketed as "the last undeveloped site on Lucerne Rd", and Phil says, "If you look up and down the road you'll see we are the last of the Mohicans. Some houses have been renovated and extended, but a lot have been subdivided or bowled over and replaced by modern buildings."

Still, he has been heartened by the number of potential buyers who say they would like to keep the house and remodel it. Built of Oregon pine with parquet flooring, the home has lead-light and lattice windows, built-in cabinetry, pressed ceilings and terrazzo tiling in the entrance, bathroom and kitchen. The custom-made wallpaper in the main living area was crafted in France. It features a repeated motif, taken from the house's architectural drawings, which were sent over to Europe. Seventy-plus years old, it is still in good condition.

The house is on two levels, with the main living room on the right opening into the dining area. On the left of the entry hallway is what was Phil and his sister's playroom. Off the hallway are the kitchen and laundry, with the porch at the back. A wooden stairway takes you to the bathroom and toilet halfway up, and then the three bedrooms.

Two bedrooms look across the Orakei Basin, taking in harbour and city views, the other faces Meadowbank. Phil will miss this outlook the most. "You have the serene view over the basin and the city. And, being a dead-end street, you hardly have any cars, plus the house is set back from the street," he says.