NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD

Developers of four terrace houses promise clean, sleek design, writes Sandra Goodwin

The Hauraki area below Takapuna has much to recommend it, says the director of a company working on a development called The Noble. Mike Xu, one of the directors of Map5, the company behind the project, believes it will appeal to people who live in the area but want to downsize and enjoy lock-up-and-leave convenience.

The Noble is being sold off the plans and will consist of four two-storey terrace houses with freehold titles to be built at 5 Northboro Rd.

The homes will all have views, with upper levels looking out to Auckland City, the harbour bridge and sea.

Mike says: “My family lives in this area and I think it is fantastic with so many amenities, and (it’s) quieter and more residential than Takapuna.”

“The Noble will be walking distance to very good schools and to Hauraki Beach, which is a nice, relaxed beach.”

Mike and his team got resource consent in July for the new development, which will replace an older house and secondary dwelling on the 846 sq m property.

They expect building consents by Christmas and completed homes will come with a Master Build 10-year guarantee.

Design manager Choon Leow conceived the overall design for the terrace houses.

Choon says: “My goal was to create comfortable living, using good quality materials and designs that fit in with the surrounding residential environment.”

The houses will feature an angular double-pitch roof in Coloursteel above a combination of cedar, Axon panel and Titan Facade panel.

Choon says: “We wanted clean and sleek design with some nice roof form”.

All four houses will feature ground floor decks plus upper storey balconies with glass balustrades.

Cut-outs into the roofline will accommodate uncovered balconies on the three rear houses. The front house will have a recessed, covered balcony.

Map5 could have fitted five dwellings on site, but Mike preferred four for attractive aesthetics and more generous liveable areas.

“Asian buyers often like quite showy design with features such as big columns, but we are not targeting them,” he says.

“We want to appeal to local people who already love the community and the neighbourhood and are looking to downsize, so the designs are to suit them.”

The four-bedroom terrace homes have been designed with a single internal-access garage each. Stellar did The Noble’s landscape design.

Grounds for the two middle homes will be easy care with no lawn but deck and planting.

The front and rear homes will have larger grounds, including a lawned terrace.

The rear unit will have the largest garden area, at just under 130 sq m.

All four houses will have open-plan living-diningkitchen, with timber flooring. The same flooring is also in the entrance and stairs.

Kitchens will feature composite stone benches and Bosch appliances.

Upstairs, each house will have three carpeted bedrooms, the master with en suite and powder room.

The master also gets better views of the harbour and beyond. Downstairs in all four houses are the garage, laundry, and bathrooms. Two houses will have two bathrooms and two will have three.

Hauraki Corner and Countdown will be a fiveminute walk, Hauraki Beach seven minutes, Little and Friday’s Belmont cafe 10 minutes, and Hauraki school and Takapuna Grammar eight and 12 minutes’ walk respectively. The Noble is to be completed by the end of next year.