Apartment living on the rise

Press, 26 July 1989, Page 47

Apartment living on the rise

Apartment living appears to be a concept that has come of age in Christchurch.

One of the most pleasant features of this emergent trend is that older buildings, formerly faced with eventual demolition, are instead being revitalised. Until recently the apartment lifestyle was generally regarded as an option open only to the more affluent.

With the exception of Cranmer Courts, the apartment choices at the top end of the market also involved the erection of new buildings.

The leading example of this type of development in Christchurch would be the recentlycompleted Heatherlea Apartments.

However, further down the market in the lower to middle price brackets the keyword for apartments so far is “renewal.” Two schemes currently in differing stages of development, the Millwood Apartments in the old Wood Brothers’ mill in Addington and the High Para Rental Apartments in the old Para building in High Street, both hinge on the resourceful recycling of old building stock.

The developers of both these separate projects each report the same startling public response when the schemes were advertised.

According to Mr Derek Anderson, one of the High Para developers, “having five hundred people through in eight weeks made us realise that rather than just have a few apartments, the demand justified turning both floors into apartments.” Mr Tony McArtney, one of the Millwood Apartments developers, has also found himself amazed at the public response to his conversion vision for the old Mill Building.

“The place has got a soul and people that respond to this concept Seem to sense it,” he said. Both developers are convinced that the era when locals were unthinkingly loyal to the “quarter acre section” are over.

While the majority of aspiring property owners still appear to want some form of “house and garden,” for a growing slice of the population inner city living with a distinctly urban ambience seems to be the wave of the future.

The selling of the Millwood

Apartments has been conducted by Mr Kent Duston of Gillman Real Estate.

Working in this new area of the housing market has been a fascinating experience he asserts, with a surprising crosssection of the community interested in the scheme. Kent believes there are two main reasons the traditionally conservative Christchurch public has now become receptive to the idea of apartment living. “It is partly that people are getting busier and want to enjoy the benefit of facilities without the upkeep and then there is the result of overseas experience where they have seen firsthand the attractions of apartment living.”

He has noted also that there is a distinctly social side to the confirmed buyers of the apartments.

“One of the most frequentlyasked questions after they have signed up for an apartment is 'what can you tell us about the neighbours.’ ” “The buyers seem to like the idea that not only will they have a tennis court but also congenial company to enjoy it with.”