Historic city villa with a promising future

Strategically located on the corner of Park Rd and Carlton Gore Rd in Grafton, just 100 metres from Khyber Pass Rd, an historic villa with several commercial development possibilities is being offered with vacant possession.

The Auckland city fringe villa, built in the 1890s, is being marketed by sales consultants Colin McKenna and Peter Nikolov of Bayleys Auckland, and will be auctioned on Wednesday July 8.

"The property is in a very high profile position, facing the Auckland Domain, opposite Outhwaite Park and close to Auckland Hospital, Newmarket and the southern motorway," says Nikolov. "The Auckland CBD is also immediately accessible at Grafton Bridge or via Grafton Rd."

The villa consists of five bedrooms on the ground floor, with a full kitchen and dining area towards the back of the property. There are six more rooms on the first level with shower and toilet facilities. Recent additions are a manager's office and a toilet, shower and laundry block, located in the courtyard at the back of the property.

"There is a large balcony on level one with a clear view of the Auckland Domain, and the rooms towards the northern and eastern side have great Domain views too. Those on the southern side look out to Outhwaite Park," says Nikolov.

He says the 761 sq m villa is zoned for residential use and is used as an 11-bedroom backpackers' facility which the new owners could continue to operate.

"However, this grand villa has the potential for many commercial uses allowed for under Auckland City District Plan. It could be used as a care centre for young children, an after-school care facility, as a care centre for elderly people, or for people with disabilities," says Nikolov.

"The district plan also allows - within statutory constraints - the property to be used for a rest home."

It could also be used for educational purposes such as a school by a technical institute, a teachers' college, a university, a primary or secondary school, or for educational administration activities.

Nikolov says another excellent potential use could be health care services, such as a doctor's surgery or dentist rooms, medical labs or clinics, or a veterinary clinic.

However, he says that, with the exception of care facilities which comply regarding the maximum number of people allowed, resource consent would be required for the other uses.

"The number of people the plan allows within the dwelling for uses such as rest homes or care facilities is one person per 40 square metres, which is a total of 19 people."

According to McKenna, the property is zoned "Residential One" (R1), the objective of which is to retain the authenticity of the property, making sure any developments or renovations maintain the special character of the villa.

"Residential One is restrictive only in the case that any proposed changes or renovations don't retain the character and the historic form of the total property," says McKenna.

The villa retains all the original Victorian features intact, such as the original wood panelling, stained glass windows, native timber flooring, and original high ceilings, all of which are consistent features throughout the building.

It has a "Heritage B" classification, which simply means the building cannot be removed, damaged or significantly changed unless the special quality, character and merit of the property is retained. Additions or replacements can be made to the property, but they have to reflect the "heritage" character of the property and the surrounding area.

McKenna says though the main building is protected by heritage classification, the surrounding buildings are not subject to the classification in terms of modification and removal.

The property is surrounded mainly by older houses and mid-sized commercial developments, most of which are located on Carlton Gore Rd.