New start for old Stratford Club

Julia Sugrue and Kamal Singh are the new owners of the Stratford Club building on Juliet Street.

It has been part of Stratford's history since it was first built in 1910, and possibly where Lieutenant Colonel Malone had a final drink before he went to war, with records showing he was a member of the Stratford Club.

Now, the Stratford Club has new owners, who have plenty of plans for the historic building. Julia Sugrue and her fiance Kamal Singh have purchased the Club and are looking forward to moving in.

The couple currently live in New Plymouth, where Kamal's family are based, and say they are looking forward to moving to Stratford and getting to know the area.

"I am from Wanaka originally, so this is a new area to me," says Julia. She and Kamal plan to marry next year. They had been looking for a property for a while.

"And we kept seeing this one come up, so eventually we came and had a look."
"We will be living in the upstairs flat," says Julia.

"We both knew it had so much potential, it made sense to consider buying it."

At 20, Julia might seem young to be purchasing property, but this isn't her first foray into home-owning.

We both love the history of the place, and any future plans we have for the building will certainly bear the history in mind

"We have already bought and sold two properties before, and I owned my own business before as well," she says.

While the young couple could have purchased a very nice house for their money, they both say the Stratford Club appealed to them far more than simply buying a house on a residential street.

"We both love the history of the place, and any future plans we have for the building will certainly bear the history in mind when it comes to the look of the place. Currently our ideas go across such a wide range, and are so diverse, it is impossible to even put them all into one category or business type." One thing she is sure of is that one room will be used as her art studio.
"I love painting in all sorts of mediums, so having my own space for that will be lovely."
The couple say they might not yet know what they will do with all the space.
"We certainly will be turning it into a successful business in the future and we are really excited to be moving into the district."