A run-down Auckland villa that sold for an eye-watering $2.23 million a year ago is back on the market after undergoing a stunning renovation.
The weather-beaten three-bedroom home at 17 Harcourt Street, in Grey Lynn, is now a pristine, top-of-the-line property, with modern extension.
The owners, Auckland developer Andrew McDade, of AMC Construction, and partner Amanda Kells, snapped it up at auction in February 2021 after beating stiff competition from other developers.
Unlike with other sales of tired or rundown Auckland villas, 17 Harcourt Street is zoned Residential Single House under the Unitary Plan, meaning McDade and Kells could only renovate or extend the existing dwelling; they couldn’t demolish and put up townhouses or units on the 471sqm section.
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Bayleys agent Blair Haddow, who is bringing the three-bedroom, two-bathroom villa to auction on April 13, said the pair had done an amazing job transforming the villa.
The original villa which was bought at auction in February last year for $2.23m. Photo / Supplied
McDade and Kells overhauled the interior of the home as well as the worn down exterior, replacing the original flooring with American Oak hardwood floors and adding a visually striking architecturally designed stained wood and glass box to the back of the villa, which houses the new living room and kitchen.
The original sitting room is now pitched as a work-from-home space, with a deck and views of the Sky Tower, and an extra bathroom has been added to the home. In his listing, Haddow said: “The potential for lavish summer parties is a given in such a luxurious and thoughtfully designed space, centred by the spacious feature kitchen, complete with butler’s pantry, Bosch appliances and Grohe fittings.”
The renovation of 17 Harcourt Street included a modern wood and glass box extension. Photo / Supplied
What the back garden looked like before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
McDade and Kells also transformed the property’s overgrown garden and installed an outdoor swimming pool.
The refurbishment comes on the heels of a record sale of another transformed villa in neighbouring Ponsonby. The Norfolk Street property sold in August last year for $5.3m.
That renovation by award-winning architect Jack McKinney and Ponsonby developer Cameron Ireland added nearly 300sqm of living space to the 56sqm corner cottage and – crucially – a three-car garage.
McDade has a strong track record of transforming and flipping rundown villas in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn. He joined his dad Murphy McDade in the renovation business after he left school at 15 and was soon turning profits on his own projects.
The new kitchen and living space at 17 Harcourt Street. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen space before the renovation. Photo / Supplied
Back in 2007, he told the New Zealand Herald that he bought his first house when he was 20, and by the age of 23 had renovated and sold 14 houses.
Today the house count is a little blurry.
McDade may have some tips for his dad, Murphy, who made headlines in August last year when he bought another run-down villa on Millais Street, in Grey Lynn for $2.525m.
The new-look home boasts an outdoor swimming pool. Photo / Supplied
He beat 21 registered bidders at the online auction for crumbling four-bedroom home, owned by the same family for almost 100 years, with the price exceeding the reserve by $150,000.
A neighbouring Millais Street property in a similar condition was bought by a family in December for $2.65m, and will be renovated for their long-term home.
17 Harcourts Street, in Grey Lynn, Auckland goes to auction on April 13.
