APARTMENT LIVING
Just move in and move on up, writes Donna McIntyre
When Ben Morelli bought his corner apartment off the plans for The Statesman in 2004, he regarded it as the best value for money of the buildings he considered. “It was partially constructed but not fitted out. It was good value and close to the CBD but not close enough to get all the noise,” he says of the Parliament St residence.
He has lived here since, apart from three years when he went to the UK and rented it out.
The apartment has great views — the museum, Kelly Tarlton’s, Bastion Pt, the gulf islands, the NZ Navy base at Devonport, and a grand cityscape.
Also appealing is the simple, effective layout — the hallway with storage (bookshelves, linen cupboard, vacuum cleaner and so on), the revamped bathroom on the right, and then the two bedrooms on the left, opening to the wraparound balcony that continues around the corner to the dining/living/kitchen.
“I have breakfast and coffee out on the balcony because you get the sunrise and then you have the sun for the rest of the day,” says Ben.
“It’s a warm apartment; you don’t have to worry about being cold in the winter.” He has added heat pumps in the main bedroom and the living area.
The apartment’s on the 12th level so there are only two levels above Ben, as the penthouse is on the top level on the other side of the building.
The location, too, is convenient. “There are loads of places to eat with Britomart so close by.
“If you have a sweet tooth there’s Giapo on Gore St and Miann on Fort St. And they have done up Fort St.
“It’s close to Vector Arena, and it’s great if I have friends visiting because we can walk to a lot of the city’s attractions — the Sky Tower or the ferry building, if they want to go over to Waiheke Island.”
Facilities for owners and residents include the pool and spa pool, and another plus is having a livein building manager plus a good body corp, says Ben.
“It’s well-built, there are no problems, and it’s not leaky.”
He has modernised the kitchen and bathroom. The original kitchen was L-shaped which took up a lot of space, so Ben put in a new streamlined kitchen against the wall with Smeg, Miele and F&P appliances.
The benchtop is a reconstituted marble, drawers are soft-closing and the splashback is tiles with a wood texture, a feature repeated in the bathroom.
The floor in the kitchen and living space has been tiled, matching the rest of the apartment apart from the carpeted bedrooms.
Ben also shifted the washer and dryer into a laundry cupboard in the kitchen, freeing up space in the bathroom where there’s a new shower.
He will leave behind for the new owners a new table and bar chairs. And probably a few suggestions of the best places to eat.
“I will miss that. I probably won’t eat out as much when I shift.”
He’s looking for a bigger place, perhaps in Ponsonby or Grey Lynn.