Mystery surrounds how much a Wellington mansion recently on the market might fetch because there is nothing to compare it with.
114-118 Cheviot Road in tightly-held Lowry Bay was built in the early 2000s by Doug Gold, who has featured on the NBR Rich List as one of the country’s wealthiest people.
Gold co-founded More FM in Wellington in the 1990s which went on to become the More FM Network and before that he managed Wellington’s Radio Windy.
After the network was sold to CanWest Global Communications for $33m in 1997, Gold went on to set up international company NRS Media and entertained a variety of top media executives at the mansion on the hill in Wellington which has a rateable value of a mere $4.2m though is expected to reach something with at least a $10m in the sale price.
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Even that is a low sum considering the cost of building something similar today – the mansion, billed in the marketing as “Hollywood in Wellywood”, features five bedrooms, six bathrooms, a tennis court and a pool on 3.771sq m.
OneRoof records of the top settled residential sales in Lower Hutt since 2015 show the top price was for a four-bedroom home on Waterloo Road in Hutt Central, which fetched $5.145m last year. That 2,227sqm property was pitched a development opportunity so isn’t a fair comparison.
A grand staircase greets visitors. Photo / Supplied
Prior to that, a house on Military Road in Boulcott – on 4,431sqm - was the most expensive settled sale, fetching $4.6m in 2020.
The most expensive RV, however, might give a bit more of a clue. A home on a 6089sqm section on Walter Road, in Lowry Bay, has an RV of $6.4m.
Gold won’t be drawn other than to say the property is at the top end of the market.
He and wife Anemarie are sad to be leaving their big home which has given them so much pleasure, featuring both bush and panoramic sea views.
Rather than Hollywood, the build was inspired by France, Gold says.
“We lived in France for a few years and when we came back to New Zealand we decided we would build and we found the section, which was quite unique in terms of size.”
The site had a tennis court but otherwise was vacant land which is unusual to find in the area.
The house comes with tennis courts, an outdoor pool and billiards room. Photo / Supplied
Gold says most of the credit for the design goes to his wife who designed a Mediterranean/Provencal type of home.
They designed it for their then lifestyle so it has plenty of entertaining space, including a 14 seat cinema and a kitchen provoking envy among the top chefs who worked in it.
Gold won’t namedrop the chefs but says some top Wellington ones cooked there, partially pining for the big scullery which is like a second kitchen.
“We had a lot of people there and did quite a few functions and had various chefs, all of whom raved about the kitchen as being a perfect caterers’ dream if you like, because the scullery really is effectively a second kitchen.
“It's got pretty much everything a kitchen would have. It's quite a large area, it's got fridges, dishwashers, two sinks, expansive bench space.”
There’s also a separate apartment originally for guests but which was commandeered by their daughter when she was living at home.
While the house could have accommodated more bedrooms, Gold and his wife decided to concentrate on the entertaining spaces, which include the cinema but also an 1860s-style bar and a billiards room.
There’s a formal lounge, a piano alcove and a formal dining area, too.
“A lot of it was built around creating good living and entertainment space rather than adding more bedrooms.”
Doug Gold co-founded More FM in the early 1990s. Photo / Supplied
And while Mediterranean in style, the home is reminiscent of the sorts of homes you might find in Hollywood or Palm Springs, he says.
Outdoor living was important, too, so there’s also a huge covered outdoor balcony that can be closed with pulldown awnings, and there’s an outdoor fire and a manicured garden Anemarie is going to miss.
It's been a fabulous family home, too, Gold says, who thinks it would suit a range of owners from people who love to entertain, to perhaps an Embassy which could have staff based in the separate apartment with their own kitchen, bedrooms and living area.
“Another option could possibly be an upmarket lodge. It's just hard to know.”
The couple are in their 70s now and have bought a lock and leave apartment in the inner city but Gold says they will never be able to replace the house they built.
The house is being jointly marketed by Tommy’s agent Bill Mathieson and Kate Foot, from Ray White.
Mathieson says the house is amazing, unlike anything else he’s seen in Wellington.
This four-bedroom home on Waterloo Road in Hutt Central fetched $5.145m last year. Photo / Supplied
“It’s just totally unique and in some ways that’s fantastic; in other ways it’s quite hard because people want to know what it’s worth and what it’s going to sell for,” he says.
“Normally if you’d got a three bed, two bath house in a suburb there’s 10 you can compare it to but there’s nothing you can compare this to.”
Foot adds: "It's got everything to keep everybody occupied. It's got the tennis court and the billiard room, with a snooker table in it, it's got the swimming pool, and it's a great place for the likes of embassies or chief executives."
