An airstrip in Wellsford, Rodney, which comes with a British-style manor house is back on the market with a $5.5 million price tag.
Bayleys agent John Barnett said while the property did not sell at tender recently, the listing had seen a huge amount of interest and had created a buzz in the aviation world with some aviators coming to view the 25-hectare package.
The airstrip was known as Springhill Airfield and was iconic among plane and helicopter enthusiasts, he said.
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Located in the Dome Valley north of Auckland, there is a sealed runway 870 metres long and next to that is a grass airstrip 717 metres long.
There are two hangars with an option for a third, a pilot clubhouse and resource consent for other options.
The current owner, a former British Airways pilot, had put a “sharp” asking price on the property to meet the market.
“It is a really special property and very genuine vendors. They are just selling because they want to slow down, not speed up in their life.
“It’s quite iconic, the Springfield Airfield. In the aerospace world a lot of people know about it. It has history.”
The aerodrome was the brainchild of businessman Richard Izard but the current owners built the house, modelled after one they had owned in the Cotswolds.
The six-bedroom stone manor is modelled on the look of English country mansions. Photo / Supplied
Barnett said the owners took great care of the property.
“It’s been so well set up, it’s beautiful, it’s manicured. Tim, the owner, basically snips the grass with a pair of tweezers – he doesn’t really, but you know what I mean, it’s manicured.
“It’s in pristine condition and I guess he’s wanting to leave it in a way the next person can come along and get the same love and enjoyment that they’ve had.
“There’s really nothing like it that I’m aware of in the country.”
The current owner had a four-seater plane he flew to Taupo on a regular basis, said Barnett.
“That’s what the property allows people to do, whether they just want to walk down from the house, throw a day/night bag in the plane, take off, fly down to Taupo, have a couple of nights down there then fly back home, park it in the hangar and walk up back to the house.
“I mean, that’s literally how simple it gets.”
The property also boasts a functioning aerodrome. Photo / Supplied
The hangars also house helicopters and when there is no parking at the prestigious golf courses in the area, such as Tara Iti and Te Arai Links, clients are dropped off and the helicopters wait at Springhill Airfield for the call to collect the golfers.
Interest had come from as far away as the United States from people who lived in a property with a house, hangar and an airfield who were “blown away” by the New Zealand airfield, but not everyone interested had been a pilot as the property also has resource consent for other options, such as for commercial storage, business or subdivision opportunities.
The five-bedroom stone manor house also has a self-contained apartment above the four-car garage and outside is a heated swimming pool and a three-bay barn.
- 1232A State Highway One, in Wellsford, Auckland, has an asking price of $5.5m
