Auckland buses forge on through flooded streets. Video / Supplied
Owners of 39 flood-hit evacuated Parnell terraced apartments will get possession of their places at the end of this week after repairs costing $5.4 million were completed.
Andi Burrell, principal of apartment consultants Anoroc Remediation, said his business had worked with owners of the mainly-rented terraced units between the railwayline, Dovedale Pl, The Strand and Cotesmore Way.
The body corporate for the 39 places accessed off Dovedale Pl had insurance with Chubb New Zealand and repairs were carried out by Tauranga’s Align Group, he said.
The three-level units are in six separate blocks, side by side and were yellow-stickered.
“It was a full internal strip-out of the ground floor: all wall linings, showers, ensuites, carpets and tiles were removed and replaced,” Burrell said.
Repairs being carried out inside one of the Dovedal units in Parnell. Photo / supplied by Andi Burrell, Anoroc Remediation.
Water had poured into the homes up to around 40cm during the fatal floods in January.
On February 10, Auckland Council inspected the units and declared them uninhabitable until they were repaired, Burrell said. After all these months of work, owners will get possession on Friday, ready for Christmas, he said.
“It is a great example of what can be achieved when everyone including the insurer and the council work together,” he said.
Andrea Stephen, chair of the Body Corporate owners’ committee and a unit owner, said insurance had not fully covered the repairs. Owners each needed to contribute around $4500.
Dovedale apartments in Parnell where extensive flooding resulted in evacuation of months of repairs this year. Photo / supplied by Andi Burrell, Anoroc Remediation
“Owners were fully insured but amazingly, there were some uninsured costs for example [wall] bracing which was not deemed to be part of the flood damage. We couldn’t have known about that until we took off the wall linings. It wasn’t our fault that the building regulations had changed,” Stephen said.
Ground-floor cleaning post-reconstruction was covered but not cleaning levels one and two, she said. Yet the units had been building sites for months and needed thorough cleaning on all levels.
This is the second time Burrell’s business has worked on the Dovedale Pl units: the first time was in 2014 when leaky building repairs were carried out.
“Many of the homes are rented. Out of 39, only around 13 are owner/occupied. Around 26 units will be available for rent from Friday because all those are owned by investors. It’s not the best timing to be renting out the places,” he said.
Auckland flooding looking at Beach Rd at the bottom of Parnell and towards the Auckland Domain. Photo / Tom McCondach
In March, the Herald reported how residents of 41 three-level townhouses were given a week to leave for flood repairs. Tenants and owners of the Cotesmore Way places near the 39 Dovedale Pl units also had to leave.
Water was up to knee height on the ground of the Cotesmore Way homes. Most residents have been able to find rooms in nearby apartments, and hostels or are staying with family for the duration of the three-month repair process.
Burrell said repairs to other blocks in the area were either running well behind the Dovedale Pl project or had not begun.
The units are on leasehold land owned by Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei. In 2012, the Herald reported how owners of 317 apartments and townhouses on the leasehold land were fighting huge fee hikes.
At issue is how much the land under the residences including the Dovedale Pl homes were worth and what the owners were liable for.
Today, Stephen said ground rent for the 39 units is $870,000/year, equivalent to $22,300/unit.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
