- Developer Richard Kroon paid $8.35m for a Remuera mansion protecting future apartment views.
- His planned apartments occupy the former Airlie Court site, with Auckland Council consent still pending.
- The purchase prevents neighbouring terrace housing or apartments from blocking northern harbour views.
Auckland developer Richard Kroon has paid more than $8 million for a mansion – not to live in, but to protect the views of his latest luxury apartment development.
Start your property search
Kroon confirmed to OneRoof that he bought the six-bedroom trophy home on Garden Road, in Remuera, in December in an off-market deal.
The house sits on a 612sqm manicured section next to the large corner site Kroon has earmarked for his next apartment block.
The $8.35m sale price was almost $1m above the RV and only came to light this week.
News of the deal follows another big Remuera sale involving Kroon. OneRoof reported last month that he had found a buyer for his 519sqm prestige residence in May, less than a month after putting it on the market with Barfoot & Thompson agent James Doole.
The four-bedroom home sits on 1966sqm of land and comes with a full tennis court and an outdoor pool. The sale price is yet to be disclosed, but the property has an RV of $12m, and Kroon was looking for a buyer with over $10m to spend.
Richard Kroon at the site of his Victoria Lane development in 2023. His latest project is earmarked for the corner of Remuera and Garden roads. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Kroon sold his mansion on Victoria Avenue in May this year for an undisclosed amount. The property has an RV of $12m. Photo / Supplied
Kroon told OneRoof this week that his plans for 320 Remuera Road were still going through the consenting process with Auckland Council.
He bought the 1500sqm corner site, the well-known Airlie Court shopping centre and carpark, last year. The site is valued at nearly $14m, but at one point when it was listed last year, it had a search price of $20m.
It is two years since Kroon completed his $150 million 23-unit Victoria Lane precinct, on the corner of Remuera Road and Victoria Avenue, where the top apartment fetched a reported $17m.
320 Remuera Road sits on the ridge, so apartments there would have wide views and northern sun. Agents unrelated to the deal told OneRoof that acquiring the neighbouring property on Garden Road was a logical move to ensure those views could never be built out.
Discover more:
- Tech entrepreneur sells his Remuera mansion for $43m, downsizes to $11m apartment
- Businesswoman who bought Mike Hosking's home for over $9m now selling her coastal estate
Remuera rich-listers have been known to fork out substantial sums to protect their privacy or views, or both. Last year, an Arney Road homeowner paid over $17m to buy houses on either side of their mansion.
And in 2023, the owners of a multimillion-dollar penthouse on Remuera Road paid $10m for the house in front of them to protect their views.
Bayleys agent Gary Wallace, who was not involved in Kroon’s December deal but sold the Garden Road home eight years ago, said that view protection was becoming increasingly important in his patch.
He noted that the Garden Road property was zoned for terrace housing and apartments, so in theory another tall tower could be built there.
Bayleys Remuera agent Gary Wallace says view protection has fast become a feature of the wealthy suburb’s housing market. Photo / Fiona Goodall
“So [the owners] could force the developer’s hand to an extent. [Kroon] has obviously paid a good premium for it. He will put a height restriction on the property and at some stage it will probably come back to market.”
Kroon may be hoping to avoid the same High Court action he went through in 2021 with his $150m Victoria Lane development, which sits at the top of Victoria Avenue.
In the early stages of the build, neighbours objected to the boom of the giant crane swinging over their airspace.
Wallace said demand for quality apartments on Remuera Road’s “golden mile” – the blocks between Orakei Road and Portland Road – was huge.
“It’s a premium location because people love that they’re right in the heart of the village. You live above nice-looking shops with that classic northern slopes view out to the harbour,” he said.
Record prices for apartment sales along the strip – $12.77m for a penthouse, $10m for a sub-penthouse with garaging for 12 cars – have not been beaten in the last three to four years.
One developer has commenced construction of his luxury boutique block.
Two doors down from Kroon’s new site, another developer is ramping up construction of a five-apartment project at 336 Remuera Road. Martin Cooper, who finished his luxury Parnell project, One Saint Stephens, last year (the penthouse remains for sale, with an asking price of $15.25m), has begun marketing his Remuera project.
Apartments in the six-storey building designed by Studio John Irving architects will be customised for each owner: a luxury three-bedroom living space has up to 153sqm of “play” space that can be customised into a wellness suite, offices, art gallery or games/movie space.
Records show Cooper paid $7m for the site two years ago, and consents for stage one of the build, demolition and substructure were issued in July.
- Click here for more houses for sale in Remuera
