Tightening finance and rising demand for lower-priced apartments has resulted in a 115 per cent lift in unit numbers planned for a fringe-city Auckland block.

Ockham Residential is pre-selling apartments in the planned seven-level 155-unit The Feynman planned for what is now a service station at 339-359 Great North Rd between Elgin St and Harcourt St.

Mark Todd, Ockham co-founder, said when his business bought the site, consent was granted for just 72 units.

But the sales market “is not what it was” and getting more places into the block would result in more people being able to buy, particularly at the more affordable end, with units starting from $725,000.

“The average price will be $1.18 million,” he said of new plans. Units in the previous scheme would need to be an average $2.5m, putting them out of many people’s reach.

“We’ve more doubled the number of units to meet different price points,” Todd said of the block named after the American physicist and Nobel prize-winner Richard Feynman.

The site owned by Feynman Limited Partnership will span the block between the two side streets, be Ockham’s 21st project, worth around $200m on completion and its largest building to date.

Ockham has five other projects worth $650m under development.

Three penthouse roof units on level seven are priced at $3.5m each.

Project funding is from Westpac. No mezzanine or second-tier finance was needed, only major trading bank debt, Todd said.

The design is by architect Hannah Chiaroni-Clarke of CC Studio and the sales brochure says Amsterdam’s canal houses were the architectural inspiration for the seven distinctive Feynman facades.

Not everyone loves it: “Looks like Estonian or Romanian eastern block housing estates,” said one on social media before Tuesday’s launch.

“Yeah totally does at first glance I thought it was a soviet-era Latvian estate housing,” said another critic.

When a commenter defended Feynman’s plan, one wit said: I see you’re not well-schooled in the finer points of classic Soviet-era architecture. It’s just missing the loitering slavics in tracksuits and rusty white Ladas parked out front.”

Ockham Residential joined in the fun: “You’re quite right. There’s been some beautiful work undertaken in Russia/Soviet Union. The difference in design and build quality to Auckland’s Nelson St monstrosities is clear.”

Todd says Ockham’s aim is to build beautiful buildings.

He is proud of Feynman’s resident amenities and design, showing on the model how the block would have a 2828sq m footprint. An area nearly the size of two tennis courts on its top floor will have outdoor areas where a pool and resident amenities are planned.

All up, 900sq m of communal space will be for residents via two kitchens, three lounges and the outdoor roof area.

“Hopefully, if sales go well, we’ll start in November and it will be delivered two years later towards the end of 2024,” Todd said of the block where 95 car parks will be developed in two underground basements, along with 478 bikes parks.

Source: Read Full Article