Truby King’s sculptural legacy
A uniquely aesthetic and historic apartment in a landmark building in Melrose is for sale for the first time since it was restored and renovated for exceptionally spacious modern living.
The three-bedroom apartment, at 28 Antico St, dates to 1923, when it was the original Karita¯ne Products Society Factory building where Truby King pioneered the production of infant formula.
Since the factory closed in the 1980s, the 366-square metre apartment has had only three owners.
‘‘It was a wreck when we bought it 11 years ago but we loved its spaciousness and the sense of history,’’ Angela Christie says. ‘‘We see ourselves as caretakers.’’
She and her partner, Dale Cooper, worked with Heritage New Zealand, Wellington City Council and a heritage architect to transform the apartment into a singular showcase for contemporary living that respected its heritage to an extraordinary degree – including the retention of some of the original plant.
‘‘We think of it as a ‘sculpture’,’’ Angela says of the formula-making machine around which the main bedroom is configured.
The apartment is listed as a category 1 building and its historic chattels are protected.
Other original features include terrazzo marble on three of the four levels, leadlight doors with the Karita¯ne Products Society logo, monkey tail catches on some of the windows, stainless steel handrails and factory worker lockers.
The vendors also have enhanced their three-bedroom home’s period appeal with a vintage sink they retrieved from the Cadbury’s factory in Dunedin and an iron table they adapted from a base for holding drums of castor oil.
They re-roofed the concrete exterior with Colorsteel, replaced the copper spouting and added skylights, a pellet fire in the vast open-plan living/ dining area and a heat pump in the lounge, which faces west towards Brooklyn.
‘‘The concrete is great insulation,’’ Angela says. ‘‘It’s never been colder than 14 degrees or hotter than 23 – it’s a very stable temperature range.’’
She and Dale also created a secluded outdoor living area with tiered decking, two avocado trees, and plum and citrus trees, that overlooks the bush around Wellington Zoo.
‘‘Our neighbours call it our ‘Tuscan view’,’’ Angela says of the idyllic outlook.
As well as a front door, there’s internal access from a tandem carport that connects to the apartment by a cellar room with timber steps to the first level.
The living/dining area includes a dramatically soaring ceiling and a wall of purposebuilt ply bookcases, the corner of which opens to reveal a secret space for storage.
There’s also a large walk-in pantry, with the factory’s original reception desk, off the commercial-grade stainless steel kitchen with its Artistan range and Bosch dishwasher.
The main bedroom overlooks the living/dining areas from the second level, where there’s also a second double bedroom and a tiled bathroom with a standalone bath and walk-in shower.
The third bedroom, with its high chapel ceiling, is on the top floor, where there’s another bathroom and a spare room that opens to a balcony that steps down to Manchester St and adjoining Truby King Park.
‘‘This is an amazing conversion that will appeal to creatives, people who love to entertain in style and real visionaries who appreciate its history and vintage industrial aesthetic,’’ Chris Barnes, of Ray White, says. ‘‘The owners have loved living here and wouldn’t be selling if not for the challenge of another renovation project.’’