Historic landmark prepares for next chapter
A grand, historic homestead across the road from Auckland City Hospital is on the market. The character home on a high-profile corner site beside Grafton Bridge and overlooking Grafton Gully, traces its roots back to 1885.
It was later occupied by Auckland City Engineer Walter Ernest Bush who supervised building the bridge between 1908-10. Historical photographs show little of the exterior has been altered since 1900.
The homestead has a category B listing in Auckland Council’s schedule of buildings, heritage properties and places of special value.
Sitting on some 912sq m of land zoned Business Local Centre zone under the Auckland Unitary Plan, the approximately 330sq m house at 123 Grafton Rd is for sale by auction on July 20 through Bayleys Auckland.
Salespeople Millie Liang and Phil Haydock expect it will attract potential buyers from the commercial and residential markets. The benefits of the property’s zoning, which permits construction up to 18m, are amplified by being in the ‘double Grammar zone’.
“Subject to appropriate consents, the site could be subdivided, allowing for the creation of a new commercial or mixed-use building on the undeveloped portion of the site, while retaining the heritage dwelling at the front.
“The building would also attract buyers with an affinity to Auckland’s heritage past looking for an add-value project in a prime location — restoring the dwelling to its former glory,” said Liang.
“The configuration of the home and gardens follows a typical pattern of the Victorian period. The house was built forward on the section with a formal ornamental garden on the Grafton Rd street frontage, and the larger rear garden for vegetables, sheds and outhouses. It would be relatively easy to reinstate these period landscaping features.”
Haydock said, “Along those lines, the homestead could also potentially be converted into a high-end boutique hotel to take advantage of its location on the edge of Auckland city centre.
“From a commercial refurbishment perspective, the homestead could be tastefully reconfigured to accommodate the offices of a professional services business such as a boutique accountancy firm, legal practice, or architectural consultancy – in a style widely seen in villas and bungalows around Franklin Rd/College Hill in Ponsonby.”