A grand Christchurch mansion is being offered for sale for $1. However, buyers will have to line up removal of the "as is, where is" 14-bedroom house from Lunns Road, Middleton, and fork out for an asbestos audit.
One house removal company estimated the two-storey over 500sqm mansion would need to be cut into up to eight pieces to fit on the moving trucks, and costs could quickly build into the hundreds of thousands.
The hair-raising ins and outs of house removal came to kiwi's attention in 2021 when former First Man, Clark Gayford, fronted TVNZ's Moving Houses. It made no bones about the wise truckies, the nail-biting perils of winding a wide load around country roads - or the rewards of an old place given new life.
The 1903 mansion, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake, has been the home for 75 years for Hamilton Jet, the biggest waterjet manufacturer in the world, supplying customers from Shotover Jet to US military vessels. It will be supplying Fullers360 with Auckland's first electric hybrid ferry, a 300-passenger boat for the company's Devonport route.
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The 7ha Lunns Road site, home to over 400 staff, is undergoing a three-year multi-million-dollar build for a new 8000sq m factory and 4000sq m office space.
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The company’s advertising for the property said “This beautiful home has been witness to history in the making. Now is your chance to write the next chapter in what has already been a classic kiwi story of forward thinking, family value and kiwi ingenuity.”
Hamilton Jet founders bought the mansion in 1944 to house employees, but the company is now starting a huge new factory and office build. Photo / Supplied
Some original features survived the Christchurch earthquake of 2011 for the mansion, being sold in ‘as is, where is’ condition for removal. Photo / Supplied
The arts and crafts-style mansion, was built as the summer home for well-known Timaru farmers Rosamond and Thomas Teschmaker, and was the base for their daughters during the Christchurch ball season. It was designed by well-known architects Collins and Harman, whose buildings include the Christchurch Press and the former Canterbury College Students Union as well as many grand houses for the gentry. The grand staircase, many of the original fireplaces and stained glass windows survived the earthquake.
Hamilton Jets founders, the Hamilton family, bought the property in 1944 for a new factory, at first using it as an employee boarding house before making it the company headquarters until the earthquakes in 2011.
The $1 sale comes with some strict conditions, the company said, including all the costs of an asbestos audit, professional removal and reallocation within three months of purchase.
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