It’s all action on clifftop mansion street
Flurry of building, revamps and sales means it’s hard to find a park amid the tradies on exclusive Nth Shore road
It’s all action on one of the North Shore’s most exclusive clifftop streets.
Sites lining the waterfront at Hauraki’s Clifton Rd are undergoing newbuilds, renovations and sales and there’s hardly any street parking due to the trade vehicles.
One futuristic mansion has just been sold, next door a new place is being finished, another will rise soon, a major do- up by a leading builder is under way, while further down three huge neighbouring sites are for sale.
Hauraki is between Takapuna and Devonport and Clifton Rd runs off Lake Rd, the main access route between the two suburbs. Britomart developer Peter Cooper and wife Sue built the minimalist fortress- style home, with separate areas for relatives, on a narrow section that goes down towards the sea.
The Coopers sold the starkly beautiful Pip Cheshire house, listed for sale with Tom Kane in 2015, and now are moving into the sections next door — originally numbers 3 and 5, but now renamed No 1 Clifton Rd.
The mansion at 2/ 1 came up for sale again recently, with Patrick McCarthy of Unlimited Potential seeking $ 3,595,000. That contract went unconditional about April 11 and the sale price is not yet known.
The Unlimited Potential description said: “The combination of location, design detail and execution together make this solid masonry home a compelling seaside offering.
“This outstanding home of approximately 250sq m plus balconies also enjoys Rangitoto views, a generous level lawn and beautiful landscaped garden setting. Altogether a special home in a prime location.” The Coopers have now almost fini shed their new Pip Cheshiredesigned house, with a strong stylistic relationship to their earlier 2/ 1.
Tradesmen will be on the site for a few more weeks, but are nearly done.
Cheshire said: “The original house [ at 2/ 1] was very constrained by town planning and the addition gives Peter and Sue a more balanced building.”
A Cooper and Co spokeswoman said Peter Cooper did not want to comment. Property records show this plot i s owned by Yu Jin Wu and Wen Jing Chen. All existing structures, including small, one- level house, have just been demolished and site works are now under way.
But this property does not have a seafront because another house stands between it and the water. High- profile businesswoman Annette Presley has one of New Zealand’s top luxury house builders, Lindesay Construction, renovating her place, once owned by Diane and Bill Foreman.
Presley founded IT recruitment company Stratum, then co- founded CallPlus. Her house has its own tennis court and lush tropical gardens overlooking the sea.
Big- time property investor Ben Cook once owned this place.
Another former owner of the property has an interesting history.
In 2007, the Herald reported the owner of a Korean business based here — Daeju’s Huh Jae- ho — paid $ 11.5 million for the place, then one of the highest prices for an Auckland house.
His lawyer at the time, Marcus Beveridge, said the house might soon be demolished and replaced with six townhouses.
But Huh’s Daeju empire went bankrupt, ending his dream to build the 67- level $ 450m Elliott Tower in Auckland’s CBD.
In 2014, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported Huh had been convicted of tax evasion and embezzlement and “was taken straight to prison labour house to pay off his fine,” after returning from living in New Zealand for four years. These places were listed for sale last June and remain on agent Graham Wall’s website. “They haven’t sold yet but we’ve received a few offers,” said son Ollie Wall.
The properties are owned by Tokoeka Properties, connected to the Spencer family, one of New Zealand’s wealthiest, assessed by the National Business Review’s rich list as having a $ 720m fortune.
The late John Spencer once gave his address as 33 Clifton Rd, Companies Office records show. The sites are nearly half a hectare and include three houses.
“More than an acre of clifftop development land on Takapuna Beach — it’s almost unbelievable that it could be bought,” Wall said last June.
The properties are worth at least $ 13m but were speculated last year to fetch closer to $ 20m once they sold. caveats was later withdrawn by the person who lodged it.
Of those 26 caveats, nine related to one of the parties still being in a current marriage.
The most common reason for lodging a caveat was to do with one or both members of the couple having insufficient mental capacity to get married. There were 12 cases of this being raised in the last six years.
The remaining five caveats were lodged for various reasons, the DIA said.
Objecting to a marriage these days i s a far cry from the stereotypical movie scene in which a person rushes forward mid- ceremony, yelling “I object!”
The objector must pay $ 51.10 to lodge the caveat at a registry office, and must include their reasons, full name, and address.
If the court thinks the objection is invalid, it will be cancelled, and the objector may be ordered to pay compensation to the couple if the objection seems unreasonable or intended to annoy or distress the couple.
There have been no notices of objection filed against civil unions in the last six years.