Fancy a trendy café with your apartment?

Fancy a trendy café or an upmarket barber’s shop with your new apartment?

Industry experts say there is a growing trend for the ground floor space of apartment buildings to be dedicated to a nice café and other retail outlets but some point out having a café on site is not the main reason to buy.

These kinds of facilities are nice to have and can add a great sense of community to a building, says Trisha Vincent from Bayleys.

Snö Cafe in the new St Marks apartments in Remuera. Photo/ Getty Images

Vincent has sold various apartments, including at St Marks in Remuera which has a “lovely” café on site, and she is also selling at The Grace in Sale Street which has plans for a café on the ground floor.

“I’m not sure it’s a drawcard so much but it’s certainly a welcome addition to the building. People like the fact they can just pop downstairs, have a cup of coffee and meet their friends and have lunch.

“I think while it’s convenient for people having a café I think it’s also using space that maybe wouldn’t be quite so attractive for another apartment.”

Maria Salmon, a development and apartment specialist formerly with Ockham Residential, also says having a café on site is great because of the sense of community it can bring but she doesn’t think it likely people would pay more for an apartment because of it.

Location, aspect and what the building offers as a total are factors more likely to influence price.

“But I guess as people get used to living in apartment buildings versus single dwellings like historically we have had in New Zealand they are more open to connecting with people.

“I mean, the inner city can be quite isolating so the more amenity you have you’ve got those options if you want to engage.”

Salmon has been involved with numerous Ockham apartment developments and says not many so far have cafes, though including one is always part of the conversation.

What Ockham has done in all their buildings is create common spaces which people can share, so The Isaac apartments in Grey Lynn, for example, have roof top lounges.

Other Ockham apartment buildings in the pipeline, however, are likely to have more ground floor facilities, she says.

“I do actually think in the future cafes or that type of thing will probably emerge more.”

Caz Jackson, Fletcher Living’s branch manager for Auckland central, says they factored a café into The Obsidian apartments at Three Kings, and also into Waiata Shores, their new family-friendly neighbourhood in Conifer Grove.

“This is about connecting communities and building in the facilities to support them in their daily lives – our lives are busy and fast-paced and facilities like cafes allow people to access what they need in a local way.

“We see cafes and other facilities as integral to city living.”

Williams Eatery in Willis Bond's Wynyard Quarter residential development is an important part of creating a new neighbourhood. Photo/Jason Oxenham

Willis Bond’s Mark McGuinness who has developed some of the newest apartments in Wynyard Quarter, including 30 Madden, says that creating community for residents means adding amenities that create a lifestyle. The company carefully curates the retailers and cafes that line street level, such as top tier restaurateurs like Williams Eatery great barbers, looking for operators that understand they are creating a neighbourhood and who will get to know their customers by name.

Andrew Murray, director of Auckland real estate company the Apartment Specialists, does caution buyers to do their homework, however, especially if they are buying an apartment off the plans.

The ground floor is often leased commercial space so it’s good to know what commercial leases are in place before you buy - and cafes can go bust, he warns.

“Who says it’s not going to turn into a fish and chip shop or turn into something that stays vacant and looks horrible.

“If it’s already established and it’s already surviving that’s probably the best because you can see the café, you can try the coffee, and you can see if it’s your kind of thing.

“If it’s not, well, I wouldn’t make your purchasing decision hugely weighted on there’s this lovely café down there.”