$6.5m wanted for ‘private slice of paradise’

The woman who spearheaded Auckland’s $210 million apartment tower is selling off a chunk of waterfront land on Waiheke Island.

Liz Scott and her husband, Glen Cadwallader, are looking for $6.5m for the 7.76ha next door to their award-winning gin distillery.

306A Cowes Bay Road is the final plot in a newly created gated community on the island’s east side. It is listed for sale with Barfoot & Thompson agents Annie Xu and Jeff Hazell and New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agents Pene Milne and Lisa Hopewell.

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The property, which has been pitched as a “private slice of paradise”, is mostly bushland, but it does come with shared access to a jetty, boat launching ramps, and a helipad.

The listing on OneRoof also highlights that it is within “walking distance” of Waiheke Distilling Co’s garden bar.

Scott and Cadwallader set up Waiheke Distilling in 2019 on a ridge overlooking Cowes Bay, formerly Pikau Bay. At the time, Scott was general manager of Hengyi Pacific, which built the 178m-high Pacifica tower in central Auckland.

The 7.76ha plot at 306A Cowes Bay Road, on Waiheke Island, is for sale for $6.5 million. Photo / Supplied

Scott and Cadwallader sold the mansion next to their distillery for a significant sum after buying the entire Pikau estate for just under $26m. Photo / Supplied

The 7.76ha plot at 306A Cowes Bay Road, on Waiheke Island, is for sale for $6.5 million. Photo / Supplied

Scott and Cadwallader at their award-winning distillery, Waiheke Distilling Co, overlooking Cowes Bay. Photo / Supplied

Scott, who left Hengyi Pacific in 2023, has thrown herself into the gin business and, with Cadwallader, has made Waiheke Distilling an internationally renowned destination in just a few short years.

They are also behind one of the island’s biggest property deals. OneRoof sales records show the couple bought the 31ha estate in front of their distillery from rich-listers Sean and Beverley Donnelly for just under $26m.

OneRoof reported in 2022 that the Donnellys had split the estate into three separate plots and were seeking just over $30m for all three. Milne and Hopewell were the listing agents and brokered the deal.

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OneRoof records also show that Scott and Cadwallader sold off parts of the estate, including the seven-bedroom mansion overlooking the bay.

Scott declined to comment on the deals due to confidentiality agreements, but told OneRoof that Cowes Bay was “a special and coveted location” and was “expected to sell over the coming months”.

OneRoof reporter Catherine Smith talked to Milne about the sale and Waiheke’s largely hidden coastal market. Milne told OneRoof that large land deals like Cowes Bay were complicated. “This huge sale on Waiheke for $25.777m is only coming to light now because of the time [it takes] to get titles because of the resource consents.

“This beautiful bay was purchased in its entirety and renamed. The new owners took the opportunity to ensure the bush was protected with covenants,” she said of the now-gated community at the bay.

The 7.76ha plot at 306A Cowes Bay Road, on Waiheke Island, is for sale for $6.5 million. Photo / Supplied

The 12ha section for sale at 143 Cowes Bay Road is also up for grabs. Photo / Supplied

“You go through the gates and arrive at this little piece of magic. You have this absolute sense of arrival and wonderment. [The new owners] put in the roadway to each lot, but the jetty is historic. People would catch the steamboat over from the city, in their beautiful Victorian gowns and parasols, and go there for holidays or a beach day. At one point, the boat shed was a dance hall.”

Milne said the main appeal of Waiheke’s east side was the privacy it offered buyers. “They’ve got a slice of paradise you just cannot find anywhere else. It’s accessible by boat, helicopter, and car ferry, but you’re surrounded by bird life, and the sun is fantastic. This is not Onetangi or Palm Beach.”

Milne said east-side properties were typically snapped up by locals, rather than international buyers. “Overseas people enquire, but then there’s the challenge of finding an architect and a builder. They haven’t got three years to invest. And it’s coastal, a gulf island, so there’s OIO approval.”

306A Cowes Bay Road is not the only game in town. Further south, millionaire philanthropist John and Jo Gow are selling a 12ha plot of land at 143 Cowes Bay Road. The couple’s property is home to hundreds of kauri trees, one of which is more than 500 years old, and is next door to a waterfront lifestyle plot they sold last year for $18m.

Pacifica penthouse - can it still get a sky-high price?

Milne’s relationship with Scott extends to The Pacifica when she was the listing agent for the tower’s much-talked-about super penthouse. When The Pacifica was launched almost 10 years ago, it was going head-to-head with another skyscraper a few streets away. The rival Seascape was taller, but The Pacifica’s top floor was more expensive, carrying at one point a price tag of just over $40m.

There were a few bites, but The Pacifica’s developer, Hengyi Pacific, decided in 2022 to split the super penthouse into four smaller, but still quite large, apartments.

The 7.76ha plot at 306A Cowes Bay Road, on Waiheke Island, is for sale for $6.5 million. Photo / Supplied

The Pacifica building near Auckland’s Britomart is 54 storeys high. Two of its three penthouses are up for grabs. Photo / Supplied

The 7.76ha plot at 306A Cowes Bay Road, on Waiheke Island, is for sale for $6.5 million. Photo / Supplied

The Pacifica listing agent Gavin Lloyd, centre, at the launch of the apartment tower. Also pictured is Liz Scott. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Two of the penthouses are on the market for sale with Bayleys agent Gavin Lloyd. Lloyd knows The Pacifica - and the troubled Seascape - well. He helped launch The Pacifica when he was with CBRE and helped sell the Seascape when he was with New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty.

The smaller three-bedroom apartment is pitched as “sky-high penthouse living - at an affordable price”. The larger four-bedroom penthouse aims to snare a buyer who probably doesn’t care too much about affordability.

The 7.76ha plot at 306A Cowes Bay Road, on Waiheke Island, is for sale for $6.5 million. Photo / Supplied

The four-bedroom penthouse in The Pacifica was looking for $16m last year. Photo / Supplied

In a press release highlighting the more expensive listing, Lloyd notes that “it stands alone in the market – offering an extraordinary chance to secure a generational asset at a time when high-end residential offerings are increasingly scarce and highly sought-after”.

“In a climate of constrained supply and no comparable projects in the pipeline, this is a legacy acquisition. A home that cannot be replicated.”

When the penthouse was listed with Sotheby’s last year, the developer was looking for $16m. That may not be possible in the current economic climate.

When they launched, The Pacifica and the Seascape were the shiny new apartment towers on the block. Now, they face stiff competition from stunning penthouses in newer luxury apartment towers and developments, including 51 Albert, which has a $16m price tag on its top floor, and Parnells One Saint Stephens, which is offering its penthouse for $15.25m.

- Owen Vaughan is editor of OneRoof.co.nz. You can contact him with any property tips or story ideas at owen.vaughan@nzme.co.nz