The former Hike and Bike Backpackers, in Kaitāia’s Commerce St, has been bought by a local couple who plan to turn it into four apartments.
A Kaitāia couple with a love of their hometown have bought the former Hike and Bike Backpackers in the main street to develop into four self-contained, short stay apartments.
The former backpackers was formally closed by Far North District Council in 2023 as a dangerous building due to the then owner failing to ensure the fire alarm system worked.
The property, believed to be well over 100 years old, was put on the market last year and was bought by Juan and Rachel Heemi, from J&R Builders.
They plan on an extensive renovation of the grand old building - which is packed with native timber features and a feature stairway - to fill a niche they believe the town needs - self-contained, short-stay accommodation.
“Juan and I are both originally from Kaitāia. Prior to moving home, we spent several years working on construction projects within the mining and oil and gas sectors in Western Australia – myself in HR management, and Juan in construction supervision roles," Rachel said.
“I returned home around 10 years ago when our son was born, and Juan continued working in WA and Micronesia for a year or so, flying in and out of NZ during his breaks.”
She said returning home was supposed to be a temporary thing while on maternity leave, “but there’s nothing like having kids to make you realise home is where the heart is, so we decided to set up shop permanently in the Far North and subsequently started J&R Builders“.
The couple’s reasons for buying the building were threefold.
“Firstly, we believe there is a lack of good quality, self-contained, short-stay accommodation in Kaitāia and thought this would be a great spot to build something to help fill that gap. Secondly, we feel we are well placed to navigate and deliver the project – and we are not shy of a bit of hard work.
“And thirdly, we are genuinely invested in the Far North and are excited about a project that we believe, and hope others agree, will be positive for our town.”
She said at this stage they are looking to provide four fully furnished apartments, however, acknowledged they are only in the planning, design, and consenting stage now, so this might change as they work through the process.
Work has already started removing some of the ancillary buildings at the back of the property so what’s their best-case scenario for when they would start?
“I feel like this question lends itself to being interviewed by Kevin McCloud [British designer, writer, and television presenter of the Channel 4 series Grand Design] where every novice says they’ll be in by Christmas, only to find it takes them five years,“ Rachel joked.
“We anticipate the planning and consenting stage for the main building to take 12 months, and construction to take another 12. So realistically it will be a two-year project.
“We believe there is a gap in the market for higher end, self-contained, short-stay accommodation in Kaitāia. We are hopeful the apartments will be used by professionals visiting for short-term work, visitors here for events, people visiting friends and family who want or need their own space and holiday makers who might prefer apartment-style accommodation to use as a base to explore the Far North.”
Concept plans will be completed over the next few months and the couple will do their best to honour the history of this beautiful old building – while also balancing the practicalities and budget constraints of delivering a renovation project on a structure in this condition.
In 2023 the building was permanently closed after a Dangerous Building Notice was served by the council. The former backpackers, on Commerce St, was subject to several complaints to the council in recent years with it being ordered not to operate as a backpackers.
Far North District Council’s acting group manager for delivery and operations Trent Blakeman said the building was issued with the notice in June 2023. Because of the building owner turning off the fire alarm, no independent qualified person would inspect the building and issue a building warrant of fitness.
“Without fire safety compliance, the building was deemed to be dangerous. A Dangerous Building Notice was issued, and fixed to the building entrance. All tenants must vacate a building on the same day a Dangerous Building Notice has been issued. If people continue to use the building for accommodation while it is classed as dangerous, the council will infringe on the building owner.”