A zinc-clad Wellington home with an RV of $9 million and a rare “tennis court sized” basement has come up for sale.
The four-bedroom house at 286 Oriental Parade, in Oriental Bay, was built by construction giant LT McGuinness and has never been listed on the open market.
It boasts several standout features, including clear views of the harbour, but perhaps the most striking is the underground garage with turntable, designed around the owner’s extensive model train collection.
Margaret and Tim Fairhall bought the property in 2002 for just over $2m. Back then the house that occupied the site was drab and run-down.
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The Fairhalls, their two children and eight flatmates made do with it until 2009, when they decided to replace it with something more befitting the neighbourhood. The multi-storey home they got was better than they had expected.
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They had commissioned Gina Jones, of Accent Architects, to design a home that was sympathetic in shape to the neighbouring properties, but also built from materials that could withstand the harbour climate. For that reason, Jones chose a mixture of brick and zinc for the exterior.
The design also needed to house Tim’s model railway. “We had to dig out the basement for that, and it’s the size of a tennis court,” Margaret said.
The property was designed by award-winning architect Gina Jones, of Accent Architects. It is modern and bright. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen will suit modern family needs. Photo / Supplied
The property was the last residential home to be built by LT McGuiness and was handed over to the Fairhalls in 2011.
Margaret, whose husband Tim passed away in 2020, told OneRoof that the living area with its 3m stud was her favourite part of the home.
She also loves the courtyard. “Because we don’t have a hill behind us in this part of Oriental parade, we get all-day sun,” she said.
Margaret, who is a keen golfer and a competitive swimmer, is selling up so she can downsize to a more manageable space. “It’s time to move to somewhere like an apartment, but I have to sell this home first.”
She said an archaeological excavation of the site in 2009 had uncovered several colonial-period items, including ceramics, kitchenware, toys, old fireplaces, drains, and the remains of old outhouses. The artefacts were offered to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa, but not taken up, said Fairhall, adding that they would remain with the house when it is sold.
The property looks out to the water. Photo / Supplied
One of the home's many standout features is a skylight, which fills the house with light. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Mike Lovell said the home was one of Wellington’s finest and “occupies one of the best sites on Oriental Parade”.
“From the bottom up, the home is unique,” he told OneRoof, noting that the 280sqm basement garage was bigger than many homes in the city.
“Few Wellington homes, let alone Oriental Bay ones, have four-car garages. To have that much off-street parking is rare, especially in Oriental Bay,” he said.
A lift runs from the basement to the top floor. Photo / Supplied
“There’s also an incredible amount of storage space behind the garage. Someone might want to put a gym in there.”
A glass lift runs from the basement to the top floor, which boasts a skylight. “It’s like an atrium-gabled glass ceiling. That lets incredible light all the way down through the building.”
Lovell would not be drawn on price but said buyers should ignore the September 2021 RV of $9m.
The suburb’s top sale price post-Covid is $6m, for a five-bedroom, three-storey home on Oriental Parade.
- 286 Oriental Parade, Oriental Bay, Wellington, is for sale by way of tender, closing June 12
