- The Silos apartments in Raglan, converted from a cement silo, are for sale individually.
- Grant Lumsden and his wife, who bought them in 2021, are selling three of the five apartments.
- The apartments are popular with visitors, boasting about 80% occupancy and starting at $350 a night.
Raglan’s Silos, an industrial concrete cylinder converted into luxury accommodation, have hit the market for sale.
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The Silos have been listed before as a single purchase, but this is the first time three of the five apartments in the complex have been made available individually.
The massive silos were originally used to take cement off ships from Nelson for distribution throughout the Waikato. They were painstakingly converted by Rob Galloway and Marie de Jong in 2003 and featured on the New Zealand TV show My House, My Castle.
The Grand is a New York loft-style three-bedroom apartment located on the first floor. It is the largest of the three apartments. Photo / Supplied
The popular apartment, complete with a billiard table, has a nightly rate starting from $350. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton man Grant Lumsden and his wife bought the property in 2021 and have been running the apartments as an accommodation business ever since.
Lumsden told OneRoof the Silos were “iconic” and that holidaymakers from across New Zealand and around the world came to stay. “It’s on people’s bucket list,” he said. “There are no other cement silos like this in New Zealand.”
He said he had one couple drive from the Far North just to stay at The Silos. Another couple, from the US, sold their home to spend time travelling the world and had put The Silos in their top 10 of places to visit.
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The apartments also attracted a lot of repeat customers. “You actually become friends with some of them. Some of them have stayed six or seven times or more. They keep coming back. Some will come back every three months or so.”
The Grand, which is the largest apartment, has a nightly rate starting from $350 for two people plus an $80 cleaning fee and was fully booked through April. Additional guests are charged an extra $75 a night.
Lumsden estimated they were currently running at about 80% occupancy over the year. The peak period was between December and April.
The couple are selling the three apartments in the large grey silo at 88 Wallis Street to reduce their workload. They plan to keep the two remaining apartments in the smaller white silo as short-term accommodation.
The Water’s Edge apartment is suitable for a family of four or two couples and has a sunny deck area. Photo / Supplied
“We are getting a bit older. We do all the cleaning, the whole thing. We are only operators, basically.”
The biggest apartment for sale, The Grand, is a two-bedroom New York loft-style space on the first floor. A smaller two-bedroom apartment dubbed The Water’s Edge and a studio dubbed The Wharf share the ground floor.
The apartments are on leasehold land owned by the Waikato District Council and are on a 21-year perpetual lease. The rent is reviewed every five years, but Lumsden said it hadn’t gone up yet.
The Wharf studio apartment has harbour views across the boat ramp. Photo / Supplied
Before Lumsden’s purchase, the five apartments were one title and had been on the market for several years. “A lot of people were interested in them over that time when they were on the market, but they just weren’t that interested in all five. It was just too big a commitment for most people,” he said.
The Silos are next to the Raglan Wharf complex, which is home to boutique shops such as Tony Sly Pottery, Soul Shoes, and the Wharf Kitchen and Bar. Raglan’s main street was just a 10-minute walk away.
“It’s got a lot going for it. A hell of a lot.”
Bayleys listing agent Mark Frost said The Silos were standout properties. “As landmarks, they are one of the most unique features in the Raglan landscape,” he said.
Potential buyers included owner-occupiers who wanted a low-maintenance pad to live in permanently or to use as a holiday home. Investors were also being targeted.
Frost was not giving a price indication at this stage because he wanted to get market feedback first.
- The Grand, The Wharf Pad and The Water's Edge apartments are for sale, deadline closing May 8
