- Builder Darren Harrison transformed a 1960s watchtower into a home at Waitarere Beach.
- The project faced challenges, including a rugby injury to his son, leaving Harrison to complete it.
- Harrison and his partner, Maria Wehipeihana, now live in the tower but plan to sell it.
Builder Darren Harrison likes a real estate challenge, but this one was almost the end of him.
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He told OneRoof it all started with a trip to a demolition yard in Levin.
There, languishing amongst the junk and scrap, was a watchtower, which he thought would make for an unusual but striking addition to his property at Waitarere Beach, in Horowhenua.
"It was built in the 60s as a forestry tower to look out for fires. So, it was manned the majority of the time. Then somebody lived in it in the forest for a period of time,” Harrison said.
The tower home offers clear views of the water and the beach. Photo / Supplied
The top two floors of the three-storey structure somehow found their way to CJ Recycling demolition yard on Bruce Road in Levin, where it was being used as an office.
Harrison can’t quite explain why he decided to buy it. “I just liked the look of it. And I didn't want to see it go to waste," he told OneRoof.
"We had a workshop across the road from the demo yard, and I tracked down the owner and spoke to him."
Harrison had sufficient land at the back of a cafe he owned 14km away in Waitarere and initially thought he could place the tower there and rent it out to tourists. “Our whole idea was to have the tower as an Airbnb and have café do the complimentary breakfast."
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Harrison did a deal for the tower with the owner of CJ Recycling, "tidied it up on site, and then shifted it bit by bit in sections”.
He said: "I just had to cover my bases and measure, because it was still at the demo yard. I had to make sure it was going to fit when it arrived. Half the town was ready and waiting [for when it arrived]. I didn't want it to be a balls up."
Harrison built the lower level from scratch and had a friend who owned a crane lift the sections into position. "A lot of the neighbours were there to watch. I was trying to keep it low-key, but it wasn't that simple. I mean, big crane turns up and half the town's buildings and everyone's watching."
Most of the locals were glad to see the tower get another life in Waitarere and embraced it, said Harrison. "But there was the odd one or two that weren't too keen on it.”
Harrison started the project in 2017 and is selling up to move onto another project. Photo / Supplied
Harrison’s plans turned to custard a bit when his son James, also a builder, had a rugby injury in the middle of the build, and was laid up for nine months, leaving dad to do the work on his own. Harrison’s partner, Maria Wehipeihana, helped with the retaining walls and internal work, but he had to do most of the heavy lifting.
The couple made the tower their home after finishing the build. Harrison's favourite features are the decks around the tower that were used as lookouts in its original life. The views out to the sea are unrivalled, although his friends always joke that the best view is of the bottle store. They can see if it’s open before heading downstairs.
Because the tower started life on the beachfront, it has a louvre system which provides ventilation without sand coming in. “It was actually sitting in the sand dunes in its previous life."
The property was conceived as an Airbnb but Harrison and his family turned it into their home. Photo / Supplied
Harrison said the project was incredibly challenging. “I wouldn’t do it again,” he said. “The garage was probably the hardest part because we took 26 truckloads [of sand away] just to build the garage.”
He said he was selling up to move onto another project. Professionals agent Gareth Heard said it was one of the most unusual homes he had come across. “I have never sold anything like this,” he told OneRoof, adding that he had tracked the progress of the build like many in the town.
“I was a builder for 18 years. Seeing it in stages through the construction, I knew where they were going. It’s really impressive.”
Heard said the location was unbeatable, and that the RV of $700,000 was largely irrelevant. "You are elevated with ocean views, without the maintenance and wear and tear of being on the waterfront. You are central. Forget about being right on the beach. The right person is going to go, ‘Wow, how much?’”
Unusual projects have a habit of finding themselves in Harrison’s sights. He once bought a derelict factory in Levin, and renovated that, while living in a flat on site. “I just reclad it, rebuilt it, ground all the floors, and redid the floors.”
And at one point, Harrison, Wehipeihana and their children lived in a house truck, while he built a shed, and then a house for the family. “We've always done something out of the norm,” he said, adding that his next project would be “something sane".
- 112 Kahukura Avenue, in Waitarere Beach, Horowhenua, is for sale, deadline May 15
