A stylish Arts and Crafts-style 1930s house on one of Herne Bay’s prime streets is being bowled for two luxury townhouses.
The property on 19 Argyle Street will be demolished next month to build two homes in a move agent Ollie Wall of Wall Real Estate has long been asked for by his wealthy clients.
Wall, who is marketing the properties with Andrew Wall, said already one of the pair was already under contract before they started marketing this week.
The development is by rich-lister property developer Kurt Gibbons who knows the area well.
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He and business partner Ben Cook made headlines when they developed Herne Bay’s first supermarket in 2022, putting it back on the market for $50 million just months after it opened, and this week announced the $30m-plus sale of another of their supermarkets in Mangere.
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In their personal real estate holdings, Gibbons and wife Makere made headlines for their deals in 2021, selling their renovated house on the Marine Parade-end of Argyle Street for $22m and buying a huge villa around the corner on Marine Parade in an off-market deal for $23.5m. Gibbons told OneRoof the house is undergoing a $7m renovation which they hope will be finished by October.
The small scale, high quality development is new departure for Gibbons.
“This is what our clients have been asking for literally for years and it’s never existed,” said Wall.
“They want brand-new, north-facing, lock-and-leave but they don’t want an apartment, something that allows you to downsize without downgrading.
“They want the forever home for retirement, but it shouldn’t feel like you’re stepping down, but you’re stepping up into luxury.
“They don’t need to drop in price, either,” he said, adding that the 278sqm three-bedroom house would be expecting around $7m.
The pair of luxury townhouses replaces a smart 1930s house that sold for $4.15m in December last year. Photo / Supplied
The Argyle Street townhouses have sea views from the upper floor living and master suite. Photo / Supplied
Wall said that his company worked with Gibbons to help shape the brief to the architecture team at Bureaux on what their buyers were looking for.
“People want great big living spaces and walk outside to a big balcony. They want to be surrounded by light, have a swimming pool and mature landscaping. Bureaux did a great job.”
The two-level house, which is future-proofed with a lift, has the kitchen, dining, living and principal bedroom suite on the upper floor to get views to the Waitemata Harbour, with two further bedroom suites downstairs beside a casual living room opening to the full-sized 4.6m by 2.6m pool. By inserting courtyards downstairs and high light-wells Bureaux brought in the daylight clients demand.
The downstairs living room overlooks a pool and tropical garden. Photo / Supplied
Architecture firm Bureaux designed the homes to meet the needs of downsizing couples who want luxury, but not an apartment. Photo / Supplied
Finishes include Oamaru stone walls, a customised kitchen with Miele appliances and hand-applied plaster wall finishes. Mature landscaping was also part of the brief, Gibbons said, adding that he expected buyers would also ask for some customisation.
Gibbons told OneRoof that while the company specialises in high-end townhouses, the Argyle Street property was a different bracket.
“We’re focused on good location and quality that is everything you would get in a big house, but brand-new. We could do more of these, the market is coming back in all senses.
“Quality locations are the key thing,” he said. Records show Gibbons paid $4.15m for the house on its 500sqm site in December 2022. Demolition starts next month and the new homes should be ready by July next year, he said.
Finding such desirable sites is the challenge in Herne Bay.
“There’s a huge market, this is the first of them. We’ve been door-knocking, but it has to be the very best position, north-facing, near the water,” Wall said.
“You’re a pitching wedge distance from Auckland’s most expensive street, walking distance from the beaches and Jervois Road.”
Another mansion on Argyle Street that also has development potential, this time at number 60, is on the market. Photo / Supplied
It comes as another historic Herne Bay mansion, over the road on 60 Argyle Street, is back on the market after a year-and-a-half pause.
The last time the five-bedroom house, known as Craigmore, was on the market with a price expectation of $10m. The agents marketing the mansion, Lisa Pringle and Ronald Lim from UP, said it could well be demolished. It has a CV of $11.2m.
This time Pringle said interest in the 100-year-old house on 2107sqm site zoned for suburban density is entirely from buyers looking to renovate it as a single family home.
“It’s a big project. But the upside is that Herne Bay being Herne Bay, it wouldn’t matter what you spent on it, renovated homes can sell for millions more.”
- 19 Argyle Street, Herne Bay, is for sale by negotiation
