Filling a hole in Remuera’s apartment market
Luxury apartments provide opportunity for empty-nesters to stay put in Remuera, writes LOUISE RICHARDSON
Locals wondering what’s going on at a large empty
2200sq m site in Remuera Rd, right next to the village, are about to learn the answer.
New Zealand-born Chinese businessman Neville Fong, along with his family including daughters Victoria and Vanessa are planning one of the highest quality apartment offerings Remuera’s ridge has seen, a boutique development called
308 Remuera. Bbuilding is to soon begin on the project’s 18 luxury apartments.
“We worked hard to define the sort of person or family this opportunity might appeal to,” says Victoria.
“There’s always been a shortage of lock-up-and-leave apartments around here for empty-nesters, who are moving out of their large family mansions.”
The family saw many of these downsizers shifting to suburbs such as Ponsonby and Grey Lynn because they couldn’t find what they needed in Remuera, although they wanted to stay there, close to familiar facilities such as medical care.
“And close to the Remuera Bridge Club, too!” says Neville, who with his wife Sue has lived in the suburb for 60 years.
For the past two decades, the couple has lived in the house they recently demolished to make way for the apartments.
They also owned a vacant section next door, once the site of a grand mansion owned at various times over many years by the families of renowned Auckland business dynasties, the Myers, Nathans, and Kerridges.
The historic house was moved to Kaipara in eight pieces around 20 years ago. The new apartment complex now sits where it and Neville’s and Sue’s house once stood.
“Sue and I knew how centrally we were located, and both wanted to stay right in this spot, so we came up with this plan,” says Neville.
The family approached celebrated architect Brian Cullen, along with Chad McMan of Paterson Cullen Archaus to collaborate on the design.
The result is a high-quality, solid pre-cast concrete exterior with carefully considered architectural details such as the handsome porte cochere entrance leading to a soaring atrium, and large, sunny balconies and loggias.
The elegant interiors have been created by Vee Kessner of Space Studio, drawing on the textures and colours of nature with two seasonal stories, spring and autumn, chosen to enhance each apartment’s unique aspects and relationship to its surroundings.
There are five-star, hotelstandard fixtures and fittings and luxury bespoke kitchens with top-of-the-range appliances star, along with luxury bathrooms.
The 18 apartments come in several variations in the number of bedrooms so buyers can choose their ideal home, and a large, top-floor penthouse apartment is the ‘piece de resistance’.
Each apartment comes with two basement carparks, and the penthouse has four.
Jenny Kek and Robert Ashton from Bayleys are marketing the apartments and both say that interest is already running high. “Once people can see the building coming along, we’re expecting even more inquiries,” says Jenny.
She and Robert agree with Neville and his daughters that this type of development has been long overdue.
“When you sum up what’s on offer here, the views, the proximity to Remuera Village, Newmarket with its new 277 shopping complex, and the CBD, public transport on the doorstep and so much more, you can see why these apartments are going to be very popular,” says Jenny.
Sale: Price on application
Contact: Robert Ashton, Bayleys, 021 633 398; Jenny Kek, 021 994 188