- Ido Drent has launched an 87-unit apartment development in Mount Albert aimed at first-home buyers.
- His company, Elaman, has completed over 100 homes, including projects for Kāinga Ora.
- Drent emphasises quality, affordable housing and was inspired by developers like Mark Todd and Shane Brealey.
Former Shortland Street star Ido Drent has swapped scripts for scaffolding, launching an 87-unit apartment development in Auckland’s Mount Albert aimed at first-home buyers.
Start your property search
Drent, who trained in property management and valuation at Massey University before embarking on a career in acting, has built up a solid portfolio of work with his company Elaman.
The firm has completed multiple development projects for Kāinga Ora, including social housing schemes in Glenfield, Glen Eden and Birkenhead.
It’s a far cry from the drama of Shortland Street, where he played the shady Daniel Potts between 2009 and 2012 (later roles include a doctor in the Australian comedy drama Offspring and INXS drummer Jon Farriss in the miniseries Never Tear Us Apart).
Ido Drent in an explosive scene in his Shortland Street heyday. Photo / TVNZ
Drent, centre, with some of his Elaman team members at their Parnell office in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
“When I started acting, in the background I was always engaged with property in some way,” Drent told OneRoof, highlighting that his first business was renovating commercial properties.
He said he and wife Mandy realised in 2018 that “acting just wasn’t serving us anymore in the way that we wanted it to. We realised we were climbing the wrong ladder”.
Property was an obvious choice. Early projects, including homes for women who were rebuilding their lives after prison, showed Drent how good housing could transform lives.
Discover more:
- Outrageous Fortune star lists her blue villa - and reveals why she didn't buy out West
- Flipping unbelievable: 'Basic' villa sells for nearly $6m after high-end revamp
- For sale: Grand Designs house that ended in romance, not tears and heartache
“At the time, there was a lot of media around people living in motels and the back of cars,” he said. This led to Elaman building social housing developments for Kāinga Ora.
Finance for the initial projects came from rich-listers Liz and Paul Blackwell, said Drent. “They took a massive chance on me and helped fund our first project.”
However, he wasn’t just putting his cap out for money. He lined up a builder on a fixed-price contract, secured the designs and found a buyer in Kāinga Ora.
“For us to go to [the financiers] and say, ‘Hey, we need X amount of dollars to do these five things I’ve already organised and already secured’, is very different to me saying, ‘Hey, Diana, can I please borrow $2m? I think I can go do a property development’.”
The Olympus apartments are aimed at first-home buyers, with prices starting at just over $500,000. Photo / Supplied
All the units are Homestar 6 accredited and built from solid concrete and brick. Photo / Supplied
Elaman’s first Kāinga Ora project, the Agincourt, in Auckland’s Glenfield, involved 10 two-bedroom terraces. That was followed by Glenview, in Glen Eden, a social housing project with 24 apartments that was short-listed for the 2025 Te Kahui Whaihanga NZ Institute of Architects Auckland Architecture Awards in the multi-unit housing category.
So far, the company has built more than 100 homes. “We just recently finished 15 [units] in Birkenhead for Kāinga Ora, which are really beautiful,” Drent said.
His latest project, the Olympus in Ōwairaka, comprises one, two and three-bedroom units priced from $539,000 to $899,000. Around 25% of the apartments are sold, with move-in expected in January. Two of the four blocks overlook Murray Halberg Park, and all the units are Homestar 6 accredited and built from solid concrete and brick.
Like many developers, Elaman has had to deal with a changing political landscape. Kāinga Ora has gutted its development pipeline, cancelling hundreds of projects and refocusing purely on landlord operations.
Drent with his wife Mandy: "Acting just wasn’t serving us anymore in the way that we wanted it to. We realised we were climbing the wrong ladder.” Photo / Supplied
He said the dismantling of KiwiBuild had had an impact on the Olympus development. “We secured the underwrite, and then KiwiBuild wrapped up,” Drent said. That meant the apartments could be sold at any price. “We worked really hard to try and still keep those prices that we initially agreed to with KiwiBuild. It’s a really cost-effective price point for people to get into houses.”
The winding up of KiwiBuild could restrict the ability to build similar projects in the future, with Drent arguing that Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s current Residential Development Underwrite programme, was seemingly not as all-encompassing as KiwiBuild.
“We haven’t tried to get one, but from what I’ve heard, they haven’t done many underwrites, and it’s extremely hard. They’re extremely risk-averse, which I completely understand with a new government coming in and trying to carve a new path,” he said.
“I do think this is a time in the market when an underwrite is extremely effective at promoting activity. KiwiBuild was a well-established programme with a good track record of delivering a lot of units.”
Drent said he was inspired by developers who showed integrity, including Ockham’s Mark Todd and Simplicity Living’s Shane Brealey. “Shane approached me about three years ago. He guided us to help secure a KiwiBuild underwrite on [Olympus].”
Brealey also introduced Drent to Simplicity’s concrete building systems. “He opened up the stack cell construction methodology for us. I think we were the first company outside of Simplicity to use their construction methodology, which is their concrete formwork system. We’ve adopted many lessons from them, and been a massive benefactor of their generosity.”
Todd, who is known for his visionary, design‑led approach to urban regeneration, was another hero. “There’ll only ever be one Mark Todd, but we certainly do hope to stand shoulder to shoulder with those guys and other developers we respect in delivering vertical quality in Auckland,” Drent said.
“The reality is for me, apartments are part of Auckland’s future, and having lived over in Melbourne and in LA, apartment living is something that we will have to get used to, or see the benefits of.
“But we also need to deliver a quality, accessible alternative so that people are enticed by that style of living. You can’t just go, ‘Here’s a little box that’s got no amenities and it’s not a great location, but we just expect you to adjust’.
“What Ockham’s done so well is provide lovely amenities in great areas. Equally, that’s what we want to do. We just bought a site in Morningside where we’re currently consenting roughly 120 units.”
- Apartments in the Olympus, on Olympus Street, Mount Albert, Auckland, are for sale
