For 20 years Vanessa Smith has tightly held onto her beloved apartment in the character Emily Building on Emily Place, relishing its 120sqm high-stud spaciousness and incredibly convenient location.
Two decades ago, when she was living in a Mt Eden character warehouse apartment, friends told her about apartments coming to market in the building.
“The developer was just releasing these apartments then, so I wandered through the building and basically had my pick of them,” Smith says. She chose Apartment 4G for its spaciousness and north-west facing position in the building.
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The current owner peeled back the walls to expose the brickwork and impressive concrete pillars. Photo / Supplied
“It’s got the old steel framed, opening windows along the front and down one side so it’s flooded with sun and natural light with great air flow.
“From here on the fourth floor you get a lovely outlook up to the greenery of Emily Place Reserve and also a view down Emily Place and Customs Street.”
Constructed in the 1920s, this historic building was originally a substantial commercial space. It was the Paykel’s Building before being occupied by Bing Harris & Co, through to the 1990s when it was converted into these apartments.
The green outlook from 4G / 22 Emily Place, Auckland CBD, through the old steel frame windows. Photo / Supplied
“This apartment was a bit of a blank canvas when I first saw it, all gibbed and painted cream, which wasn’t to my taste.”
Smith set about exposing its beautiful character, uncovering some of its brickwork and impressive concrete pillars. Concrete floors were lightly ground and sealed.
“There’s so much more interest when you see character materials. And this high stud – which I think is about 3.35 metres – give you a real feeling of spaciousness. It’s great for hanging art.”
Built in the 1920s, Emily Building was originally a substantial commercial space before being converted into apartments in the 1990s. Photo / Supplied
For much of her life Smith has made a living painstakingly restoring apartments, including the apartment directly below this which she sold about eight years ago.
She can see a natural progression for this apartment.
“To me, it’s a no brainer,” Smith says. “You’d take the bedroom which is at the front of this layout and add it into the living space to create a huge living expanse.
“You could also squeeze up the bedrooms here as they’re really larger than they need to be. And you could also expose some more of the brickwork and character.”
The concrete jungle of Auckland city is visible from the many steel-frame windows of Apartment 4G. Photo / Supplied
As well as living space, the apartment offers three very spacious bedrooms, plus a large bathroom also encompassing the laundry.
It has a tidy, functional kitchen, which Smith has never turned her attention to bar changing the handles, seeing as she doesn’t cook.
“You don’t need to, living in this brilliant location, with everything on your doorstep. It’s so easy to pop out to meet friends for a drink or coffee or a meal.”
The apartment is 120sqm in size with three bedrooms and one bathroom. Photo / Supplied
Smith has bought a 100-year-old cottage as a holiday home so will now spend the balance of her time in a smaller character apartment. But she knows she’s going to miss the spaciousness and light here.
Apartment Specialists agent Sovannara Meak, who is marketing the property, says: “This sort of character can’t be built ever again with features such as the original brickwork and the steel-framed windows.
“And because it is becoming rarer and rarer to find this character, it will continue to appreciate, especially in this superb location.”
Apartment 4G at 22 Emily Place in Auckland City is for sale by negotiation.
