The top two penthouses in the $250 million-plus hotel and apartment tower that’s currently being built on Auckland’s Albert Street are to be turned into one big $26m luxury residence.
Ninety-Four Feet, the Australian developers of the 41-storey 51 Albert, decided to merge the penthouse and sub-penthouse just as the owners of the nearby Pacifica moved to split their own super-penthouse into three separate units.
“While the Pacifica has unbundled, the developers have gone the other way,” said Jason Gaddes, the New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent tasked with marketing the new split-level apartment.
“There will be two full floors of over 660sqm, with multiple living areas, four bedrooms, a gym/fitness room. There’ll be no mucking around with empty shell; it will be beautifully fitted out with natural stone, high-end appliances and the best of the best.
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“We’ll be looking at a ball-park price of $26m.”
Gaddes said that the Melbourne-based Ninety-Four Feet were buoyant about the future, with New Zealand’s borders finally opening up.
An artist's impression of 51 Albert. Photo / Supplied
“The timing is right to release something now. We’re looking forward to the world getting back to some sense of normality. The country’s opening up, the world is opening up.
“We’ve had interest from Australians and Singaporeans, as well as expats. People will want to get back down here and amongst it, it’s a good positive story.
“It’ll be spectacular. And we think there’s a strong local audience at that price point too.”
The company had earlier priced the top penthouse at $13m and the sub-penthouse at $11m.
The tower’s apartments will sit on top of a 225-room luxury hotel, Indigo, the fashion brand of the IHG Hotels and Resorts better known for their Holiday Inn and InterContinental brands.
The new super penthouse will be fitted out with top of line materials and fixtures. Photo / Supplied
Both hotel and apartments will be completed by the end of next year, with ground work now complete and the super-structure build expected to start in April, Gaddes said. It is only the second in Indigo in Australasia.
IHG is also opening a Holiday Inn Express over the road in a new tower on the corner of Albert and Wyndham Streets, the former home of the New Zealand Herald, while a DoubleTree by Hilton is slated for a 2023 opening at 98 Albert Street.
Gaddes said that gives the apartment owners hotel-style services like valet parking, a concierge, an onsite gym and wellness centre, as well as access to the restaurant, lounge and wine bars being retrofitted into the original Edwardian industrial building at street level.
Albert Street is still in chaos as construction of the CRL has worked its way up town, but completion and handover is promised for late 2024, and the once overlooked street will sport wider footpaths, trees and less car traffic.
The apartment floors sit above a luxury hotel, Indigo. Photo / Supplied
Gaddes said that 23 apartments had already been sold for between $2m and $7m, to buyers from New Zealand and Australia.
The move to super-size the penthouse comes as other luxury towers in the city reported a slowdown at the top-end of the market.
That’s not been the case for properties Gaddes is marketing.
“The overall market last year was phenomenal for high-end apartments, we were trading really well,” he said.
“Coming into 2022 we’re still doing the business, but there is not the volume of buyers at the moment. We do feel that will change. These are buyers who are less bothered by changes to finance rules or interest rates. They’re all cashed up and insulated from this - they’re selling big houses.”
Fellow New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Pene Milne is currently marketing what was the Pacfica’s super-penthouse.
The 1220sqm two-storeyed apartment, on the market for some time asking $42.8m, is now being offered as three smaller apartments.
Milne told OneRoof interest levels have been strong since the relaunch last month, drawing buyers interested in the option of bringing their own architect to create their own apartment from the shell space.
