- A luxury Auckland penthouse with Gotham City vibes has sold, featuring a rotating car bed and dancing pole.
- The apartment, listed by Julie and Trent Quinton, was marketed to Asian and Australian buyers.
- The vendor, who bought it for $6m, renovated it with 1000sqm of marble and onyx.
One of OneRoof’s most viewed homes of 2024 – a luxury apartment with Gotham City vibes, a dancing pole and a rotating car bed – has been sold.
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Bayleys listing agents Julie and Trent Quinton posted a video on social media this week announcing the sale of the super-penthouse at the top of the 155m-high Metropolis tower, in central Auckland.
The Quintons’ co-listing agent Dominique Donaghy declined to disclose the sale price but told OneRoof that the buyer was New Zealand-based but spent part of their year overseas.
She said the buyer was looking for a penthouse apartment that had an outdoor space. “There aren’t many penthouses these days with balconies, especially the balcony size that the Metropolis has. And so that was what drew them to the property. It’s essentially 360-degree views of Auckland.”
She added: “They may potentially renovate the property. It’s kind of a blank canvas. Once all the furniture is out, they can do whatever they like.”
The rotating car bed had to be airlifted by helicopter into the penthouse. Photo / Supplied
The apartment’s dancing pole gave the home a distinct party vibe. Photo / Supplied
Donaghy said the vendor was delighted with the sale. “For a sale of that size, and obviously the uniqueness of the property, we were quite impressed with how quickly we managed to sell the property,” Donaghy told OneRoof.
“We were quite impressed with the fact that we had [people] come and visit it from New York and Australia. So we really did manage to reach the worldwide market with the campaign.”
The apartment, which first hit the market and headlines in August, came with a $10 million price tag. It was withdrawn at the end of October and relisted with Bayleys, and a different market in mind.
The previous listing, which was with a different agency, championed the apartment’s playboy decor, putting a huge Batman insignia, dancing pole, and car bed front and centre of the campaign.
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The Bayleys listing toned down the party atmosphere, although the apartment still looked wild – there’s no escaping the lava marble and nightclub lighting.
Donaghy told OneRoof in November that the vendor had owned the apartment for 10 years and had dressed it for his own use, and not with future buyers in mind.
“Every corner is crafted to impress, from the expansive living areas to the opulent Italian marble, floor-to-ceiling onyx,” the listing on OneRoof said.
The walls still boast psychedelic colours. Photo / Supplied
The penthouse boasts a panoramic view of Auckland. Photo / Supplied
OneRoof talked to the vendor in August. He told OneRoof he bought the penthouse for $6m from tech millionaire Charles Shrimpton more than a decade ago.
He said Shrimpton was in the process of renovating the apartment and had just installed $300,000 worth of timber flooring when he changed his mind and decided to sell.
The owner promptly stripped back the apartment to its concrete shell and then started the process of decorating it to his tastes.
He deployed 1000sqm of marble and onyx, imported from Turkey, and gave the apartment a Batman vibe, inspired by the tower’s Manhattan look. Pride of place on one of the walls was the Bat symbol and the words “Gotham City”.
The penthouse was relisted with Bayleys at the end of 2024 and aimed to snag an Asian or Australian buyer. Photo / Supplied
The installation of the car bed – which cheekily has the word “divorce” on the licence plate and includes a fridge – was one for the movies. It had to be airlifted to the penthouse by helicopter, one the owner had to hire from Australia because no Kiwi chopper was strong enough to do the job. The surrounding streets and roads had to be closed off while the car was in the air.
“The pilot had his leg out of the door at one point and the whole helicopter was shaking – it was jumping up and down. We went over Albert Park and dropped it onto the deck,” he said, noting that it was the last helicopter drop of its kind in central Auckland.
The whole fit-out took three years, with the owner and his long-term partner finally moving in in 2016.
He told OneRoof he was particularly proud of the hidden electronics and engineering. There are 14 TV screens in the apartment but you won’t find a single one in the listing photos or on display.
“Like the doors, they are all hidden. Everything is hidden,” he said.
“The beauty about living here is during the day you’ve got the best views of Auckland, but when it’s dark you’ve pretty much got a nightclub.”
The owner also revealed to OneRoof why he was selling up. “It’s been 10 years. I believe 10 years is a good investment. Time for a new adventure. I like to do new things, new projects.”
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