The architect in charge of rescuing an $85 million Auckland apartment project has told OneRoof he has made design improvements that will protect the development from wear and tear.
Glen Cornwell, of architectural practice Team Architects, is spearheading the revival of Beachcroft Residences, on Onehunga’s waterfront, and is racing towards the project's target completion date of December 2024.
Beachcroft Residences made headlines last year when the original developer, Erson Developments, abandoned the 85-unit project after suffering cost blowouts and construction delays.
Some 50 buyers who had purchased apartments off-the-plan as far back as 2016 were left in the lurch by the decision, but the project was brought back to life in July this year when Kiwi developer Roger Coulson, backed by wealth management fund Alvarium, bought the development.
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Cornwell, who has been engaged by Coulson to revitalise and improve the six-storey development, said it would have a quality finish befitting the coastline location.
“[Buyers are] going to end up being a very good variety of really nice apartments, many of them spacious, in a great location. They’ll enjoy a variety of views, looking out over the Onehunga Bay Reserve and its lagoon to the Manukau Harbour and looking across Onehunga.”
Construction on the development - which was just a concrete shell when it was abandoned - is continuing at pace.
The building will include one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom residences, including two three-bedroom penthouses. The complex will include a street-level eatery by Tasca Group, a gymnasium run by a private operator and a landscaped central courtyard the second storey where residents can enjoy a harbour view from barbecue and recreational spaces.
Cornwell said while existing resource consents saw them retain many elements, changing the exterior’s planned Sto plaster system to a powder-coated aluminium system represented a massive upgrade.
The apartments will enjoy a range of views from the Onehunga Bay Reserve and its lagoon to the Manukau Harbour and looking across Onehunga. Photo / Supplied
“The plaster would have required scaffolding to be erected every seven years to repaint it. The aluminium is lower maintenance with better durability and is much better suited to the seaside environment.”
His practice has also upgraded the roof design, selected a better-performing insulation system and made subtle improvements to interior plans including upgrading wardrobing.
Bayleys agent Glenn Baker said: “We’re just starting our main marketing thrust but already about 15 buyers who bought in the original development have purchased and new buyers have been purchasing too.”
One-bedroom apartments bought off-the-plan start at $550,000, two bedrooms start at $750,000, three bedrooms start at $935,000 and two three-bedroom penthouses are from around $1.6 million each.
Internal-access car parks can be purchased for $70,000 each or $105,000 for tandems, with EV charging and storage lockers also available.
Niki Harrison, of Studio Design + Architecture, chose the interior design. Kitchens are full-sized with stone benchtops while bathrooms are fully tiled.
Niki Harrison, of Studio Design + Architecture, chose the interior design. Kitchens are full-sized with stone benchtops while bathrooms are fully tiled. Photo / Supplied
The partially built Beachcroft Residences in 2021. The development was scuppered after four years of delays and a more than doubling of costs. Photo / Fiona Goodall
Coulson, a 30-year veteran of the property development and investment sector, told OneRoof earlier this year that the revival of the apartment development was a “warm, good-feeling story”.
He revealed that Teak Construction, the main contractors on the 85-unit Beachcroft Residences, approached him with the idea of taking over the project. “It was an attractive opportunity from day one. Working with the incumbent builder, we had an insider view,” he said.
“However, during due diligence, we discovered it was a lot more expensive, so we reduced our offer. We lost it, someone else offered on it, but during their due diligence they withdrew and we got it back. My first time on-site was March last year.”
Coulson said it was “a warm, good-feeling story” to offer the apartments back to the original buyers. “One couple I spoke to are absolutely rapt, they’re pretty happy. Glenn [Baker] did a terrific job the first time around, so he’s had the pleasure to tell buyers ‘it’s back on’. The support of Glenn with the original purchasers, that’s made a huge difference. He’s kept a relationship with them and they came back.”
Beachcroft Residences is not the only high-end apartment development to come on stream in Onehunga in recent months. Construction on Lamont & Co's eight-storey Onehunga Mall Club, on Onehunga Mall, is nearly finished and last month Ockham Residential’s Miami-influenced development on Jordan Avenue was officially opened.
The 210-unit Manaaki is a stand-out structure in what was a poor part of Onehunga. It is awash with pastel hues of pink, apricot, lemon, sky blue and sage green and offers lush, subtropical gardens, a central hub for swimming, socialising and entertaining.
Manaaki at 9 Jordan Road in Onehunga, Auckland, is Ockham Residential’s fourth partnership with Marutūāhu Iwi. Photo / Supplied
Seventy-two per cent of sales so far at Manaaki have been to first-home buyers. Photo / Supplied
Ockham’s head of architecture, Tania Wong, says the emphasis on shared amenity is an Ockham trademark.
“We’ve made that the focus so residents can form a community. That’s why we’ve got the large resident’s lounge in the centre of the development on the ground floor, as well as the really nice pool area.”
The team also took onboard lessons from a post-pandemic way of working.
“We created work-from-home spaces on the ground floor of each building so you can take your laptop down there if you want a break from your apartment,” Wong says.
The in-house cafe is another great spot to meet friends or grab a morning coffee.
The distinctive colour palette? “We wanted to design something light and happy,” she explains.
“Because it’s a large-scale development we thought it needed something lighter and brighter, so we looked at Napier and the colours of the art deco buildings there. “We chose a certain number of colours and worked with our collaborators Midland Brick to get the shades perfect.”
“Previously on the site there were four buildings owned by the Housing Corporation and then transferred to Housing New Zealand. These were the Star Flats, built in the 1960s. So you’ll find brick patterning in the shape of a star throughout – a homage – in the paving, in the pool, in the landscaping and on all the parapets.”
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