- A heritage home in Remuera is for sale with plans for a 350sqm extension.
- Owners Amin and Shirin Tharani moved to Melbourne, halting their multimillion-dollar renovation.
- The property is marketed as a Grand Designs-style project, priced between $3m and $3.5m.
A heritage mansion on one of Auckland’s wealthiest streets is being sold with architectural plans for a multimillion-dollar makeover.
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29 Ridings Road, Remuera, has been billed by Barfoot & Thompson listing agent Sameer Rajan as a Grand Designs-style project that would quadruple the size of the existing four-bedroom home.
Rajan said the vendors had “invested large amounts of resources and time to create their ultimate dream project, which they unfortunately have to let go with a heavy heart due to an overseas relocation”.
Plans for the heritage house add 350sqm of living, plus a swimming pool, to the sloping backyard. Photo / Supplied
Owners Amin and Shirin Tharani told OneRoof they had shifted to Melbourne for business 18 months ago and were no longer going ahead with the 350sqm extension.
They bought the four-bedroom home in December 2020 for $2.625 million and commissioned Matter Architects to draw up plans for their dream home. They estimated building costs of between $1.5m and $2m and a work schedule of 14 to 16 months.
Rajan said that he was pitching the property to buyers with $3m-$3.5m to spend, noting that someone could pick it up and complete the consented extension for around $5m. At that price, it would still be one of the cheapest houses on the desirable street.
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“It’s negotiable in that range. This is the cheapest property in the street, basically,” he told OneRoof.
Houses on Ridings Road typically sell for around $6m, but last year a five-bedroom trophy home with a pool, a gym, and a tennis court sold for $9.3m – nearly $1m above its RV.
Amin Tharani told OneRoof that the family’s initial design for the additions went through more than one iteration with Auckland Council to meet the heritage regulations for the existing home.
“We’ve invested $75,000 in architects, engineers, and we’d started on the building consent, but we pulled that halfway because of our move,” he said.
The owners and agent reckon that the property is the best buy on the street. Photo / Supplied
“We didn’t go too far into building consent, because that means someone else could change the interiors, the proportions, and so on before they went for final building consent.”
The final approved consent is for a four-level, six-bedroom home, including the existing property. The upper floor extension has gabled roofs, the two lower levels, which are connected by a lift, contain the master suite, a home theatre, and a self-contained apartment.
There is also provision for a swimming pool and double garaging. The planned exterior of weatherboard and white brick is to match the heritage building.
The existing home dates back to the late 19th century. It was known as the Buttery as well as the Creamery, as it was linked to the original farm and nursery established in the 1860s.
“It’s difficult to leave because so much investment and research has gone into it,” Amin said.
The family said they were drawn to the house because of all the land at the back of the house (it sits on a 737sqm section).
“In 2020, prices were going crazy in the market,” Amin said. “A lot of people were not interested in this because it was heritage, but we thought we could use the natural slope behind for an extension.”
Rajan said some buyers had expressed interest in continuing with the vendors’ plan, while others wanted to keep the original house as it was. “It’s a mixed bag, but people want to enjoy the character home,” he said. “This is just a real opportunity for somebody who wants to get into this street.”
- 29 Ridings Road, Remuera, Auckland, is for sale, deadline closing June 5
