Surprise at new Auckland G.J. Gardner three-in-one showhome: ‘A new take on density’

The three-home 'terrace' showhome development on Campbell Rd, One Tree Hill by a G.J. Gardner franchise. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Some of the approximately 200 visitors who in the last two months visited a new Auckland showhome have expressed surprise at the design, an owner says.

Debbie Van Leeuwen, a franchisee for G.J. Gardner’s Manukau area which includes the isthmus, said the One Tree Hill home was a new take on more intense housing which is rising throughout Auckland now.

“The reaction from people coming through has been one of surprise and intrigue,” she said, criticising other terraced projects as shoeboxes with homes jammed side-by-side on sections.

Debbie and Graeme Van Leeuwen outside 45 Campbell Rd, One Tree Hill. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The house was designed and built by one of the many franchisees of New Zealand’s busiest house builders to look like a single building from the outside.

But it is three separate homes inside, each on a fee simple title, not cross-lease or unit title.

Instead of terraces which demonstrate their individuality externally in a side-by-side often two-level formation, the three units at 45 Campbell Rd near the Royal Oak town centre disguise their true nature.

“It can appear as one home,” said Debbie Van Leeuwen, a shareholder in franchisee Mea Holdings along with husband Graeme and business partner Vimal Pillay’s company.

Inside the most expensive of the three homes at 45 Campbell Rd. This place is called a Campbell Deluxe. Photo / Jason Oxenham

“But when you come inside, you identify that it’s actually three homes. This is a new take on what is medium-density dwellings. Often you see it just as terraced housing. What we’ve designed here is something specific to the unique shape of the site,” Van Leeuwen said.

The white and brown building is clad in weatherboard and brick so fits in an area with many older homes.

But one architect questioned the showhome’s design, saying buildings should read as clearly on the exterior as they did on the interior.

‘Why try to disguise it?’ he asked.

Eye-catching bathroom in the most valuable of the three terraced homes at 45 Campbell Rd, One Tree Hill. Photo / Jason Oxenham

“The showhome building looks more like a large old villa or bungalow that has been converted into flats, than a modern series of townhouses with separate legibility and clear definitions of each,” the Auckland architect from an award-winning practice said.

This was not the best way to design multi-unit housing so from an architectural perspective, was unsuccessful, he said.

Graeme Van Leeuwen said he had designed the showhome with Invercargill draftsman Rob Stewart who had visited once during construction but did not see the land before designs were drafted.

Neither man is a registered architect.

Lounge in the home valued at $1.75m at 45 Campbell Rd. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Graeme Van Leeuwven questioned what some architects design and said he wanted to do the showhome to demonstrate that his way is better.

“The showhome gets away from the terraced look.”

The Van Leeuwens pointed to a terraced housing complex almost diagonally opposite their showhome on Campbell Rd as an example of what they say people do not want.

Their showhome had been received far more favourably in the neighbourhood than the terraced homes across the road, the couple says. Neighbours and visitors have praised the design which isn’t the usual unrelenting row-by-row style of townhouse.

Gold tap, gold sinks at the terraced home valued at $1.75m at 45 Campbell Rd. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Unsightly terraced homes were rising in suburbs throughout Auckland but the city may be better off if more terraces were designed like theirs, they say.

The showhome is on a tight 559sq m site where one home previously stood. Each place can be sold separately due to the title issued.

“It’s a smaller site, more of a square than the [usual] rectangle a lot of houses are built on. So we’ve custom-designed something that maximises the layout, giving outdoor space and privacy without feeling as though you’re living on top of each other,” Debbie Van Leeuwen said.

Outdoor living areas in the three homes aren't side by side as is often the way with terraced places. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Graeme Van Leeuwen said the site was not easy to develop because volcanic rock had to be excavated and an electric sewage pumping system had to be installed to discharge into the sewer mains. That also meant sewage holding tanks had to be buried on the site, which cost extra.

The three places in the showhome are:

• A four-bedroom 200sq m home valued by CBRE at $1.75m;
• Three-bedroom 145sq m home valued at $1.3m;
• Three-bedroom 119sq m home valued at $1.1m.

The franchisee is not selling the showhome as one three: “The idea is to show what people can do,” Debbie Van Leeuwen said.

The business is using it as an example for customers to consider building to strike new contracts.

Despite being open two months, no sales have yet occurred which have resulted in a client wanting something like what they are showing off, the Van Leeuwens said.

But they had many offers to sell the showhome.

They hope to soon strike a contract for a terraced development like their plans at 45 Campbell Rd.

Mea Holdings has developed around 170 residences worth more than $100m since it began in 2018, Debbie Van Leeuwen said.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.