The Block likely user of meth-tainted building
The likely site of televison’s The Block 2018 is an old fire station that was contaminated with methamphetamine.
The building in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland had been converted into a 18-room boarding house, but was closed after testing found significant levels of meth contamination.
A former tenant said eviction orders were issued to everyone living there in April. The building was then sold to Warner Brothers, the production company behind The Block.
Warner Brothers Television bought the Kingsland Station House in August, one month before channel Three owner MediaWorks announced a seventh season of the show would go ahead. The Block this year achieved its highest ratings since
2013, with an average audience of more than 300,000 people aged between 25 to 54.
Warner Bros bought the
18-room property for $2,760,000. Neighbouring properties were also vacant when Stuff visited this month.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Cam Paterson said in February that the property was an attractive buy because the housing crisis was sure to keep profits high.
But then the old fire station was sold to start a new chapter – in reality television. Houses from The Block sell with much fanfare and celebration at prices generally above $1 million. Typically, a season of The Block results in four high-end family homes. The show’s goal is to produce the most expensive house for auction, in stark contrast to the affordable accommodation of a boarding house.
MediaWorks declined to comment. When Stuff visited the property, builders on site locked the door. A builder said ‘‘no’’ when approached for comment. The building itself was a completely gutted shell.
Before being sold to Warner Bros, the Kingsland Station House was managed by Ray White as a ‘‘lodge’’. Its rooms went for between $200 and $300 a week, providing a home near Eden Park and central Auckland transport routes for about 20 people.
The boarding house’s yearly revenue was just more than $200,000, according to Barfoot & Thompson.
Former tenant Nicholas Keesing said Ray White issued urgent orders for everyone to vacate the property on April 28. He had nowhere to go.
Ray White director Gower Buchanan said the company was required to vacate the property after learning of high levels of methamphetamine on April 24. The seven-day notice period was in line with the law as the house was deemed ‘‘uninhabitable’’.