395 Mt Eden Road

EYEONAUCKLAND added this project

Dilapidated buildings on a prominent gateway site to Mt Eden Village will be replaced with a new two-storey Edwardian-style building next year. Auckland investor and developer Andy Davies of Davies Properties has owned the site on the corner of Mt Eden and Valley Rds for 11 years and has resource consent for a 540sq m building designed to fit in with the historic character of Mt Eden Village. Coming down will be buildings housing a drive-thru Four Square and a kebab shop, plus a freestanding billboard. Replacing them will be one building with a traditional early-1990s verandah, shop fronts and a partly recessed balcony on the top level. The building at 395 Mt Eden Rd will be the first new development in the heart of Mt Eden Village for some time and it has already stirred the interest of retailers.

Construction is planned for March or April next year depending on pre-commitment. Davies said his company sat on the property for several years because it had good tenants and cash flow. But now is the time for redevelopment as there is nothing coming on to the market, construction rates are competitive and interest rates are low. Jones says the continuous retail space will have a concrete floor, a stud height of 4m and a polished concrete back wall. Tall shop-front windows will be set between rusticated columns. Doors into each tenancy will be recessed so there is maximum shopfront display area. Jones says the urban-design panel encouraged Davies Properties to have a strongly modelled parapet with a pierced cornice.

"Our material choices are consistent with the Mt Eden vernacular. We believe this building will fit well into the historic character of Mt Eden Village." Davies says the property will have low energy consumption, high-quality ventilation and air-conditioning, and there will be a lift between floors. There will be a landscaped 40sq m entrance courtyard at the rear of the property and also a common lobby for deliveries to retail and professional tenants. This feature will move trucks and vans away from Mt Eden Rd.

9 months ago