Empty CBD flats sold for millions
Planned new luxury apartments in a tower block that has been sitting empty for several years have sold off-plan for as much as $3.7 million.
Work started in July to strengthen and completely refurbish the Oxford Apartments tower on the banks of the Avon River in central Christchurch. It is expected to be completed at the end of next year.
Russell Property Group managing director Brett Russell said they had already sold nine apartments in the building for between $2.5m and $3.7m each.
He said most had been sold to locals, with a couple sold to out-oftown investors.
The tower will have 12 or 13 apartments once refurbishment is complete, he said. The penthouse apartment, which will run over the top two floors, has not yet been put on the market.
Structural strengthening work has begun on the tower.
The building is being stripped back and completely refurbished to sweep away many years of disuse, Russell said.
‘‘There was a lot of pigeon poo and the like, to be fair. They needed to be really cleaned up.
‘‘They will be stripped back with new wiring, new airconditioning and structural strengthening,’’ Russell said. He said the apartments had sold after the developers held an open home.
‘‘We fitted a room out in one of the apartments and did an open day to give people an idea of what it would look like.’’
The 12-storey apartment tower has been empty since the previous owners settled their insurance policies after the 2011 earthquakes.
The building, designed by Warren & Mahoney Architects, was completed in 2005. The refit was designed by Wilson & Hill Architects.
The building, at 66 Oxford Tce, was once named one of the ‘‘dirty
30’’ eyesore buildings that were holding back the rebuild in central Christchurch.
The apartment block was put on the market in an ‘‘as is, where is’’ state in July 2018 and sold to developer Patrick Fontein for
$3.15m.
It was put on the market again in January 2020 and sold to the Russell Property Group.
The prices paid for the new apartments pale in comparison with a $5.7m penthouse sold in central Christchurch in March last year. Two other apartments for the Upper House development planned for Park Tce sold for up to $4.1m.
Construction started last year on The Spire apartment complex on Kilmore St, where homes are priced at up to $3.15m.