The producers of The Block New Zealand paid more than $6 million for the Auckland property they now have to sell following the cancellation of the reality TV show.
The property at 850 Beach Road, in Browns Bay, was sold to Warner Bros International Television Production NZ in April 2022 for $6.25m.
The vendor, Westmoreland Homes, had paid $2.575m for the 1042sqm corner property the month before and had planned to bowl the four-bedroom home that was located on the site and replace it with four luxury townhouses.
OneRoof understands Warner Bros International Television Production NZ asked Westmoreland Homes to build the townhouses but leave them as shells for The Block contestants to finish.
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However, plans for an 11th season of The Block were canned. The New Zealand Herald's Media Insider column broke the news this week that Three’s parent company Warner Bros Discovery had decided not to go ahead with a new series of the renovation show after completing an “internal consultation period”.
Media Insider reported that while the show had never been officially commissioned, construction work had continued on the site, with builders close to finishing the exteriors of the four townhouses there.
OneRoof spoke to Warner Bros International Television Production NZ co-managing director Mike Molloy about the $6.25m purchase and the company’s plans for the property.
The Auckland site Warner Bros International Television Production New Zealand Limited was given consent to buy in 2022. Photo / Supplied
An artist's impression of the properties planned for the site when it was listed at the end of 2021. Photo / Supplied
Molloy declined to say what the production company paid for 850 Beach Road but did confirm that the contract price was for semi-completed buildings.
“That would be our normal way of buying,” he told OneRoof.
He confirmed that the initial contract to build the shells was with Westmoreland Homes but added that he was negotiating with another party to finish the house interiors.
“There may be other people in the picture for completing the interiors. We want to get the properties completed and on the market as soon as possible,” he said.
“Certainly spring would be the target, but you know the building process in New Zealand, nothing seems to happen, contributed directly to by a council that doesn’t seem to care.
“We want to get them on the market as soon as we reasonably can, given we haven’t decided on a real estate agent. We haven’t decided on anything yet.”
Molloy said he could not say what the completed townhouses would likely sell for, adding that it was not practical to sell partly-built homes.
“We’re still working through decisions on the interiors, the whiteware. All that stuff that’s got to be done that would normally be done by the talent or from our sponsors. We no longer have sponsors, we’ve got to go through all of those decisions.”
He added that without the talent working on the design, he’s tapped others for design advice. “I work in a creative industry so I have plenty of people advising. It’s not a name designer or something like that, I don’t think we need to get carried away.”
The cast of The Block NZ 2022. The show has now been axed. Photo / Warner Bros Discovery
He said that the company would be in the same position as “any other seller in the market. We’ve got no TV show around it. It’s just completed houses. We live in hope that we can maximise it”.
Molloy said the company had not considered selling the half-completed project to another developer to finish off. “That’s not an option we have considered. But I must say, if someone walks up to me tomorrow and offers me the right money ...”
Molloy previously told Media Insider that the decision not to commission a new season of The Block NZ had been “devastating for a lot of local production workers”.
The Block NZ had been a popular fixture in New Zealand TV schedules since its launch in 2012. The show sees four couples compete against each other while they renovate neighbouring homes for eventual sale at auction. The team that scores the biggest profit at auction wins, and each couple gets to keep whatever profit they make.
The show has seen triumphant teams walk away with as much as $700,000, but the last season of the show, which aired in 2022 just as the market was turning, saw the winners make just $4000 profit on auction night.
After the season’s finale, Warner Brothers Discovery announced it was postponing The Block NZ to 2024, citing challenges in the housing market as the reason for its decision.
Reports earlier on indicated that the show was returning but cost-cutting across the channel brought the axe down on several locally made shows as well as Three’s news division, Newshub.
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