When is an apartment not an apartment?
There’s a modern, single-storey house just off Cuba St, in the middle of gritty Te Aro, that’s turning heads. With its bright red door, black cladding and expansive bifolds, it’s an unexpected gem in a street that was once infamous for its brothels and Black Power gang pad.
Current owners Darryl Smith and Anna Symmans, who have lived here for eight years, have made the “tough decision to sell” as they are heading out of Wellington.
Smith says the property was something of a surprise find for them in 2015 when they were looking for a central location. “We were mostly looking at apartments and city townhouses because those were what was on offer. But we were hesitant.
“With apartments, the property purchase price is just the start. Then you’ve got the body corporate fees, associated maintenance, insurance costs, and then the worry whether you have got a leaky home.
“Then this property in Kensington St popped up – an independent, secure, single-storey house with very, very low maintenance and no ongoing costs. Obviously the location was great – it’s just a one-minute walk to Cuba St , which is still the groovy part of town, and it was sunny. It just ticked all our boxes.
“There was originally a two-storey house on this site, which was replaced by a metal building that housed a car service-repair business I believe. The owners before us built this house in its place, which can be completely closed off from the street.”
Smith says the intrigued learning couple of the have been interesting history of the street, which borders the city bypass. “Many people said that street is famous for its brothel. But when I was young, working as a cameraman, I would find myself in this street visiting and filming the Black Power headquarters, which was a fenced-off precinct.
“The Salvation Army-run Bethany Maternity Hospital supporting unwed mothers was also in this street. And more recently, we have villas that were relocated when the bypass was built, including the big house next door.
“That place also has a history being the former Stagecraft Theatre building, and once a boarding house, a squatters’ home and also a brothel. But it’s now a private home.”
At 182m², the three-bedroom, three-bathroom house is large, occupying much of the 300m² site.
Special features of the interior include exposed painted rafters, a series of skylights in the living area, galley-style kitchen with timber veneer joinery, and modern bathrooms.
The property, at 11 Kensington St, Te Aro, Wellington, has a CV of $2.18 million, and is for sale by tender, with tenders closing on April 18, 2024.