- Liz Aitken and Rob Morgan bought a historic Wellington home for over $3m and renovated it.
- They got resource consent to turn the property back into a single house but never went with the plans.
- The 210sqm home is listed for sale by negotiation with New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty.
A historic Wellington home bought five-and-a-half years ago sight unseen for more than $3 million is up for grabs after a stunning renovation.
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Arts champions Liz Aitken and Rob Morgan snapped up 186 Oriental Parade, in Oriental Bay, while living in the UK.
The couple were planning a return to New Zealand and thought restoring the run-down property to its former glory would be the perfect project.
By the time settlement came along, the world was reeling from the outbreak of Covid-19, and the couple decided to head home for good.
The couple have renovated the home to a high standard. Photo / Supplied
The house overlooks the bay and captures plenty of light. Photo / Supplied
Their newly acquired Arts and Crafts home was one of nine built by Edwardian architect Joshua Charlesworth along Oriental Parade.
“We had seen it through a video,” Morgan told OneRoof. “We had lived in Wellington before, so we knew the buildings. We knew the position and the location. We were looking to buy in Oriental Bay and wanted one of the few wooden houses left. We tried to get a very tall, skinny home at the bend, but we missed out.”
The house, which is well known in the capital for the striking mural painted on the wall outside, had been converted into three separate properties – a main home and two apartments. Aitken and Morgan planned to turn it back into a single home and got tradies in to upgrade the property while they made their way back to New Zealand.
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“We came back much earlier than we intended to. With Covid and everything exploding, the whole world changed,” Aitken said.
The couple were happy when they stepped over the threshold for the first time. “We were not disappointed at all,” Morgan said. “We didn’t expect it to be any different. We felt it had a lot of possibility.”
The couple got resource consent to turn the property back into a single home and had hired an architect to draw up plans, “but with the shortage of labour and Covid, it was very difficult to do”, Morgan said.
“We started a lot of the external work. We redid the windows, and we put in the garden.”
The couple also commissioned the street-facing mural and painted the home in the colours of the Edwardian era.
However, they didn’t proceed with the internal work. Another property in Oriental Bay caught their eye and they snapped it up, renting out 186 Oriental Parade to tenants.
The couple drew up plans to turn the property back into a single home but they never went ahead with the project. Photo / Supplied
The villa was one of nine built by Edwardian architect Joshua Charlesworth along Oriental Parade. Photo / Supplied
The couple bought 186 Oriental Parade from local personality Peter Cullen, who was famous for staging magnificent dinner parties in the city and sparked the couple’s interest in the history of the building. “Peter had some fantastic historic photos. It really sparked our interest to go to the Alexander Turnbull Library and see what they had,” Aitken said.
“There’s a really interesting story about the very first owner, Herbert Bowen Bridge. He lived in the house with his wife and his 10 sons.”
Aitken and Morgan, who view themselves as supporters of the arts, have resettled into Wellington life, making a name for themselves in the city’s arts community, and opening their home for events.
Their 210sqm home, which sits on 377sqm of land, is listed with New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Debs Metson and is for sale by negotiation.
The listing follows the withdrawal of another high-profile home on Oriental Parade. The four-bedroom house built by construction giant LT McGuinness was listed last year.
Glen Jones, managing director of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty in Wellington, said that the agency had received multiple offers for the four-bedroom home but not at the level the vendors had expected. “It is one of those things. The prices didn’t match the value belief of the vendors. It hasn’t found the right buyer, but the right buyers are out there.”
“We are pulling it off the market for a few months and will put it back on later when the market is in a happier place.”
During the time the property was for sale, the property’s RV fell dropped $9m to $6.9m.
- 186 Oriental Parade, Oriental Bay, Wellington, is for sale by negotiation