An extraordinary home designed by a man after he became paralyzed in a farm accident has hit the market for sale.
The expansive 437sqm Hamilton property was built to meet the wheelchair-bound owner’s needs so has a wide hallway, slightly lower bench tops and a self-contained staff quarters to accommodate the employee who gave him round-the-clock care.
The owner died last year and his four-bedroom, four-bathroom home at 3 Peninsula Point, in Huntington, which featured on Hamilton’s Fine Homes Tour about a decade ago, is now being sold by family members.
It has an asking price of $2.395 million, which is $255,000 below its RV of $2.65m.
Start your property search
Lugtons listing agent Kerry Hopper said while the property had been designed to accommodate the owner who was wheelchair and bed-bound after breaking his neck many years ago, it would also be great for an extended family or somebody who needed care.
Read more:
- Raglan’s iconic waterslide home back on the market
- Owner speechless after ‘storage unit’ home sells for $1.235m in bidding war
- ‘Fake’ container house in wealthy suburb must go as owner loses battle
“You don’t have to be in a wheelchair to live in the house at all ... it can suit anybody really, but it helps if it’s got someone in a wheelchair or family in a wheelchair it could work for them. He’s just designed it so he can live in it as well, but it’s a good big family home.”
The self-contained unit has a separate entrance and driveway, which Hopper said could be run as an Airbnb.
There is also a large triple garage that had been big enough to fit the owner’s wheelchair van. The games room behind the circular garage space would make a perfect teenage retreat, Hopper said, because it could fit a bed, TV and had its own bathroom.
There are three living areas in the home and lower benchtops in the kitchen so a wheelchair can fit under it. Photo / Supplied
The home has curved architecture including a circular garage and games room. Photo / Supplied
The owner had been a talented water skier prior to the accident, later coaching some of the country’s top talent, so created the shallow water feature in front of the atrium so he could sit there and enjoy it and the resort-like grounds beyond.
“He had a BBQ there, the gas fire, there was a heater and in the summertime he could have the doors all open around there and have the water around him, which is what he liked.”
The property was high spec at the time it was built and has solar panels and underfloor heating. It also has unique curved architecture and is surrounded by similarly high-end properties.
Hopper said it was perfectly positioned for the sun and off the main bedroom was a hot tub room which had an automated LouvreTec roof.
It also backs onto a gully and the walkway beside the house leads to Mangaiti Park and the playground.
The spa room is connected to the master bedroom and has a LouvreTec roof. Photo / Supplied
The property listing described it as “anything but ordinary”. Hopper agreed it was “very unique” and the floor plan showed just how large some of the areas such as the garage and games room were.
The property has been on the market for several months and because there wasn’t a huge demand for disability-friendly homes it was still waiting for the right buyer, Hopper added.
There have only been a handful of $2m settled sales in Hamilton so far this year including a property on River Road that sold for $2.28m in May and a lifestyle property on Burbush Road in Rotokauri that fetched $2.36m in June, according to OneRoof-Valocity data.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Huntington
