Heritage Air Force Officers’ Waterfront Homes Placed on the Market for Sale

Four heritage married officers’ homes on the former Auckland air force base now known as Hobsonville Point have been placed on the market for sale.

The four stand-alone 1930s-character residences – sitting on freehold waterfront sections of over 1000 square metres each – are described as the ‘residential jewel in the crown’ of the greater Hobsonville Point development, which will see the construction of some 4500 dwellings when complete.

On one side, the quartet of homes overlook the former air force ‘cricket green’ and parade ground – once used to host formal parties for officers and their wives, regimental parades, and for playing cricket matches between the air force, army, and navy. Meanwhile the north-eastern side of the sections overlook the upper reaches of the Waitemata Harbour across to Greenhithe and beyond.

Hobsonville air force base operated between 1929 and 1965 when its amenities were amalgamated with nearby Whenuapai air base. The four married officers’ quarters were the pinnacle of serviceman’s on-base accommodation – with their waterfront locations reflecting their occupants ranks above the flight arm crews who stationed in barracks and smaller dwellings elsewhere around the airbase.

Heritage archives describe three of the four married officers’ residences as replicating an ‘English Cottage’ design, with the fourth built in an ‘English Bungalow’ style.

Initial renovation works are being undertaken to the exterior of the four homes – with triple garaging installed, as well as new driveways and landscaping being completed. The homes are now being marketed for sale – allowing for buyers to

extend the existing buildings and complete internal décor and fit-outs to their own specific tastes and budgets.

Bayleys North West salesperson Simon Spiller, who is marketing the homes for sale by a set sale date of 4pm on December 4, said the developer behind the project has resource consent granted allowing for extensive additions to be made to the homes to potentially increase not only their floor space, but also for modernisation inside to expand the number of bathrooms or toilets, and add more space in the kitchens, bedrooms and dining room areas.

“The resource consents allow for homes from a bygone era when family living demands were far different to what they are today, to be totally brought up to modern specifications,” Mr Spiller said

“To date, the thousands of dwellings constructed on Hobsonville Point have been configurations of apartments, terraced units, side-be-side duplexes, and a small number of stand-alone single-level homes near the main arterial route.

“These four married officers’ quarters though are the only waterfront homes of their type at Hobsonville Point…. they are the proverbial ‘jewel in the crown’,” Mr Spiller said.

“While the homes are subject to a heritage overlay – a classification which limits the amount of cosmetic structural alterations which can be made to both the exterior persona of a premises or to radically alter its internal original framework – the issued resource consents will most likely see architects and designers coming to the fore with new concepts of how these homes will make the best use of large flat sections and outstanding seafront vistas.”

Three of the homes are two-storey, while the other is single level. Mr Spiller said he expected land titles to be issued by spring 2018.

“While there are no council valuations for these properties as yet, residential sales data from across Hobsonville Point - combined with other city-fringe coastal locations, and the uniqueness of these properties – dictates they will command a premium price bearing in mind the substantial section sizes and waterfront locations on offer,” Mr Spiller said.

ENDS

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