APARTMENT LIVING
Cafes, entertainment, parks and shopping are all on the doorstep of this boutique studio apartment, writes Donna McIntyre
The kitchen is tidy and clean. While that is the norm when you’ve decluttered and prepared your apartment for sale, there’s another reason for this tidy appearance.
That's the fantastic choice of places to eat when you live in an apartment in central Auckland.
Mari and James Baxter and their son and daughter tend to eat out or bring takeaways when they stay in their city bolthole at the boutique Lorne St Lofts.
Often there will be two, three or four dishes from different restaurants as each family member opts for their favourite meal.
The Baxters’ family home is on Waiheke Is, but with teenagers Joshua and Chelsea attending schools in the city, James working as an insurance broker and Mari’s job at Cordis Hotel in Symonds St, at least one family member has usually opted to stay overnight at apartment 1B, 4 Lorne St, in Auckland’s CBD.
James says he and Mari especially like the freehold studio apartment’s character looks with its kauri flooring, brick wall, wooden beam, heritage style windows and high stud.
“We wanted a footprint in Auckland,” says James. “I would be travelling so could get to the airport for early flights, sometimes Mari had early starts and the kids were at school at Auckland Grammar and St Kents,” he says, adding this address falls in the grammar zone.
“And I’m over commuting from the island so we’re going to sell this and get something bigger in the city as a family.”
In their two years here they have enjoyed being close to city amenities, and two supermarkets are within easy walking distance.
“And we are allowed pets here,” says James, although their labrador Charley prefers to stay on Waiheke. The downtown terminal and the ferry to Waiheke is a 12-minute walk away.
The apartment measures roughly 52sq m and has open plan living with a separate bathroom/ laundry. There’s plenty of storage, says James, indicating the wardrobe between bedroom and living, and more in the laundry and kitchen.
James has been on the body corp and says the building was given a healthy pass during seismic risk assessments. “We think that when the building was developed into apartments in the ‘90s, they did a lot of improvements then.”
Body corp funds set aside for any potential seismic work is now earmarked for other projects, including heat pumps.
Habeeb Urrahman, of Bayleys, says: “Character apartments are in very little supply in CBD. Buildings with under 30 apartments in a block are also quite uncommon.
“On top of that, 1B is a desirable layout — it will work as a city pad, investment for rental, or short stay accommodation.”