Body corporate chairman of tower one Robert Ingham. Photo / Zoe Hunter
Body corporate chairman of tower one Robert Ingham. Photo / Zoe Hunter
One of Mount Maunganui's longest-standing apartment towers on Marine Parade is having a $25 million makeover.
Residents of tower one in the Oceanside Resort and Twin Towers are upgrading the iconic apartments to get the 25-year-old building up to code.
It will cost an average of $500,000 to $700,000 perapartment in the tower, which is the one in the complex furthest from Mauao.
It comes as figures supplied to the Bay of Plenty Times show consents totalling more than $47m have been approved for remedial work on other Mount Maunganui apartments in the past three years.
These included an $11m upgrade for Calais Mount Resort and $7m for Belle Mer on Marine Parade.
"Many of the original design features including the tiled decks, single-glazed joinery and glass curtain wall are well past their useful life, particularly given the harsh coastal conditions.
"These elements also did not meet today's building code."
Ingham said water was leaking between the rubbers of the windows but there was no damage to the concrete cladding.
He said the $500,000 to $700,000 price tag was "the cost of owning property and part of the harsh beachfront conditions over 20-plus years".
"We want to do it because we want this to be a safe building.
"The increase in value will far more than cover our costs."
Ingham has owned an apartment in tower one for 20 years and uses it as a holiday home with his wife Kim.
"I have been coming to the Mount since I was born. My parents used to rent a bach here. We have always been passionate about the Mount."
Artist impression of what the new 2 Marine could look like.
Residents of the 38 apartments vacated the building in April 2021 and plan to be back next month. An official grand opening was planned for later in October.
Ingham said a number of the original building aspects, including important passive fire requirements, were shown to be non-compliant and have now all been fully remediated to current building code standards.
The apartment owners voted for a full renovation and remediation programme years ago, he said.
"They believed, given the building's unparalleled location, that it was imperative that the building be brought up to a level that it deserves.
"This includes modernising all aspects of the building, together with bringing it up to the current building code for owners' safety."
Renovations included double-glazing all aluminium joinery, a new floor-to-ceiling double-glazed curtain wall, retiling and modernising the decks with frameless glass balcony balustrades, and a complete renovation of the common areas.
Ingham said the three separate buildings, previously known as the Oceanside Resort and Twin Towers, are three independent entities run by three independent body corporates.
"The independent body corporates make their own decisions regarding their building. The resort also operates as a stand-alone rental property. There is, however, an agreement to share the swimming pool, gym and sauna areas."
"The rebranding to 2 Marine reflects the independent decision to incur a substantial cost to bring the building up to what is expected of a premium residential property today.
"The name is a modern take on its address of 2 Marine Parade."
Tower two, closest to Mauao, was not part of the multi-million-dollar makeover.
Body corporate chairman of tower two, Ski Wisnesky, said the committee was aware of the work being done on tower one.
Wisnesky said the apartment decks on tower two had been inspected and some maintenance had been completed, including making sure the painting was "up to scratch".
"We continue to monitor the building and carry out maintenance work."
Tauranga City Council's building consent report for April showed a consent valued at $7m was issued for remedial work to the Belle Mer beachfront apartments at 53 Marine Parade.
The remedial work project involves a full wall cladding replacement, new balcony waterproofing and balustrades, and a new roof overlay.
Belle Mer body corporate chairman Dave Silverton said the building was about 25 years old and starting to "show its age".
"Structurally it is fine but it has come to a point where it needs a birthday."
Silverton said the work on the 16 apartments was to be able to comply with the latest building codes.
"It went from a million-dollar upgrade to a $7m project."
But it was worth it, he said.
"No one is delighted in having to fork out the money but most people see it is worth it in the long run.
"The location is there but you have to have a reasonable standard."
The work is expected to be completed by June 2023.
In March, the Bay of Plenty Times reported Calais Mount Resort residents Mary and Tony Florence were having to spend $750,000 to fix two apartments they own in the building.
In total, $11 million worth of work is to be carried out on the 22-year-old building on Adams Ave.
Tauranga City Council acting manager of building services, Adam Cargill, said consents with a total value of $47,115,500 has been approved for the remedial work on Mount apartment buildings in the past three years.
That included $20 million for the Pacific Apartments. A consent lapsed in March but has been reactivated.
Consents and Code Compliance Certificates were issued for the Tayside Apartments on Marine Parade and an apartment block at 19 Grove Ave.
No consent has been lodged or approved for remediation for the Cayman Apartments.
Mount Maunganui apartments
Which ones have received consents for remedial work in last 3 years?
