SCHOOL ZONES:
Freemans Bay School, Ponsonby Intermediate, Western Springs College, Girls Grammar.
CONTACT:
Mike Campbell, Barfoot & Thompson, 021 437166.
*1 Off-street park.
Urban regeneration and intensification might seem like modern concepts but they were at play 50 years ago when part of Freemans Bay was redeveloped.
Declared a slum area in the 1950s, most of Freemans Bay was to be levelled and rebuilt as a 'garden suburb' with medium-density housing.
That plannever came to fruition, but some houses were demolished and replaced with apartment blocks, maisonettes and courtyard houses in the 1960s, creating what was known as Freemans Park.
Probably the most well known example of this is the nine 'Star Blocks' -- low-rise apartment buildings that look a little like stars from the air -- and an assortment of other medium density housing in an open, park-like area between Hepburn St and Howe St.
Initially owned by Auckland council and rented out at modest rates, the homes began to be sold off in the late 1990s.
Douglas Hay had a friend who bought one of the Star Block apartments when they first went on the market, and he was always impressed by the solid construction, central location and park-like setting.
"I also knew someone who was very involved in the design of those particular units and he said they are very solid," says Douglas.
"They were built by the Ministry of Works with reinforced concrete and had matai floors and rimu doors."
Douglas, who was brought up in Auckland but has spent most of his life in other parts of the country, says: "When I used to stay with my friend there, we would go up to Ponsonby Rd and play petanque out the back of the Atomic Cafe and I used to think that was a bit of all right.
"So when I had the money I bought one of the units so I could have a house in Auckland to go back to -- but I ended up spending most of my life in Palmerston North -- and now age has caught up with me."
Douglas bought his top floor unit in the three-storey building in 2002, and has rented it out since.
10/59 Hepburn Street, Freemans Bay.
Entry to the home brings you in past the bathroom and separate laundry before entering the lounge, which has floor-to-ceiling glazing in the west wall.
Off the lounge is a small kitchen with benches topped by stainless steel and tiles. One of the two bedrooms is off the lounge while the other is at the end of the hallway that runs past the bathroom and laundry. The two bedrooms and kitchen have north-facing windows
Around Douglas' building and the others in the development there are open, grassed spaces with established trees.
"Having those grounds in the heart of Auckland is fantastic," says Douglas. "And because I'm on the top floor you can see all the birds in the trees."
He says the body corporate is efficient and makes sure the properties are always maintained and well-presented.
Douglas says the bathroom and kitchen are probably close to original but have been looked after over the years.
New owners could easily make improvements that would take the home to the next level.
"What some people have done is merge the laundry and bathroom, and you could make the kitchen a bit bigger," he says. "And the floors being matai, they look great when they are polished.
"You wouldn't have to spend too much to do up the kitchen and bathroom so it's really a blank canvas."
