STANDING OVATION

The landmark Ovation apartments will add to the new Launch Bay skyline on historic former air force land, writes ROBYN WELSH

HOBSONVILLE POINT Ovation, Launch Bay,

45 Hudson Bay Road

Once part of the theatre of war, this former air force base land is welcoming another player to the stage overlooking the water off Hobsonville Pt.

During the 1930s and 1940s, amphibious aircraft famously flew out from here as part of New Zealand’s defence commitments. The latest scene change here is about peace, not war, with more new homes reshaping the landscape that is Launch Bay, the flagship project of New Zealand-based residential development company Winton.

Winton’s newest project off the Studio Pacific architectural drawing board is the six-storey apartment block called the Ovation. It will add 19 two, three and four-bedroom apartments to the mix of 343 homes, terrace houses and apartments planned for this 4.2ha site.

Construction of the Ovation is due to start in the middle of this year, ahead of an anticipated completion date of early 2021.

Importantly, this landmark building will continue Winton’s connection with the history of this area, in particular the refurbished lawn called “The Oval” that once hosted military parades and garden parties.

Decades on, new residents here are enjoying their guardianship of this focal point and the walkways connecting this wider revitalised neighbourhood.

On the water’s edge, four former 1930s officers’ homes in front of The Oval have been restored and sold.

Further back at its gateway corner location into Launch Bay, construction of the 39-apartment block The Marlborough will start in April. By May, four more of the 13 two-storey terrace houses known as the Oval Houses around the back and end of The Oval will be completed.

The Ovation will stand at the opposite end of The Oval and look out across this tiered, amphitheatre-like precinct to the water. With all the connotations of its name befitting an outstanding performance, it is being touted as Winton’s standout offering here.

“When we designed the master plan for Launch Bay we knew that the Ovation would be something very special because of its elevated location, and the name Ovation lends itself to that,” says Simon Ash, Winton’s general manager.

Its location on the rise is what sets it apart, says Edwin Killick of Bayleys. “It will still retain the feeling of being part of the local community,”

Set amid existing trees, the Ovation will feature exterior cladding that includes Canterbury manufactured bricks and aluminium cladding of which 80 per cent is recycled material.

Inside, a neutral interior palette is a contemporary backdrop to the views through floor-to-ceiling windows beneath a 2.7m stud height. Materials include engineered quartz bench tops and engineered oak timber flooring.

Each of the six floors has two three-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom apartment, with two bathrooms each. The three-bedroom apartments with decks range from 125sq m to

149sq m, with one or two carparks each. The twobedroom apartments with decks are approximately 93sq m, with one carpark each.

Topping this off is the sole four-bedroom/four-bathroom

235sq m penthouse. Its wraparound patio has a floor area of 120sq m. Three basement carparks are assigned to this apartment.

On the completion of these current building projects, the Winton developers will begin detailing their consented development of the land alongside The Marlborough that comprises stage two.

Sale: Two bedrooms from $1,050,000, three bedrooms from $1,495,000, one fourbedroom penthouse priced at $4.7m Contact: Edwin Killick, Bayleys, 021 292 0362