With their 1960s footprint intact, these one and two-bedroom apartments have maintained a sunny west-facing outlook beyond the treescape of established Herne Bay and kept their look updated along the way.
For five decades these suburban pads have rubbed shoulders with their neighbours in this 12-unit development that is madeup of eight one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom apartments.
Within that mix, the lifestyle options range from the four one-bedroom east-facing ground level apartments with decks and lawns to the two levels of both one and two-bedroom west-facing apartments with covered decks, located above the carparks.
Wrapped in modern materials, the key to their continued collective relevance has been the addition of these upper decks, the relocated stairwell and the refurbishment of all 12 apartments undertaken 12 years ago by the owner Patrick Draper.
"When he pulled up here for the first time, there was little more than a long driveway and a row of streetside letterboxes to indicate what would come into view at the end of the driveway," says Patrick.
What he saw was a far cry from what he created with his brothers James and Michael, and their sister Marian (who manages these apartments).
"It was rundown. It was a sad place to be in, to be honest. We've pretty much rebuilt it. It's really 12 years new," says Patrick.
Others wondered what he had taken on, but he was not deceived by an outdated dress code that included fibre cement board on the exterior.
He knew the building had the sort of integrity that had made these "sausage block"-style units popular during their 1960s/70s heyday.
Image 1 of 6: This 12-unit property was built in the 1960s but updated 12 years ago to offer a variety of lifestyle options.
What they lacked in points of difference, Patrick endeavoured to add into the picture by altering the mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and giving each its own strata freehold title.
Originally all on one title, the approximately 600sq m building was built as 10 one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units with an internal stairwell.
Patrick removed that stairwell to create space for a second bedroom in each of the two one-bedroom units that were at the entry end. He installed a new covered outdoor stairwell within the courtyard.
Also new are the grey corrugated iron roof and full-width 2m-deep timber decks with complementary punched-aluminium screens to aid privacy and filter the late-afternoon sun.
These decks add significant outdoor living space to these one- and two-bedroom apartments, which are approximately 40sq m and 60sq m, respectively.
The central courtyard with its towering palm and "dry" riverstone garden is communal.
Each apartment has a similarly-styled kitchen with a stainless steel or laminate bench, a stainless steel or tiled splashback and laminate cabinetry with an under-bench oven and a small dishwasher. In the carpeted apartments, the kitchens have a floating timber floor.
All four ground-floor apartments have original polished 1960s timber floors in the living areas and kitchen.
Each apartment has one bathroom that includes an under-bench combined washing machine and dryer.
This enabled the original downstairs communal laundry to be converted into a storage room with one double-cupboard per apartment.
Nearby the tenanted studio/caretaker's unit is part of the common property and, as such, does not have a separate title.
"If a new buyer were to on-sell even one of these units individually then a body corporate would have to be created and the rent from the studio unit could go towards off-setting the body corporate fees," says Patrick Draper.
All but one of the apartments is tenanted but Patrick has chosen to sell this as one entity to focus on another project.
