- Builder Gary Frazer transformed a vacant butcher’s store in East Gore into a unique home.
- The renovation took two-and-a-half years and features reclaimed wood and skylights.
- The home was featured in a local tour, receiving praise for its distinctive style.
A builder bit off almost more than he could chew when he snapped up an empty butcher’s store to transform into his own home.
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The iconic shop at 28 Huron Street, in East Gore, had been on the market for more than a year and was vacant for even longer when Gary Frazer decided to take a look.
The 70-year-old was in the middle of renovating a near-derelict cottage in the town when the 1930s property caught his attention.
The tenant Good Meats had relocated a year earlier and all that remained was a concrete shell.
The modern kitchen was installed in what was once the butchery’s freezer room. Photo / Supplied
Frazer designed the inside of the house to be different just like the outside was. Photo / Supplied
“It was just a blank canvas ... it didn’t have any internal doors in it anywhere,” Frazer told OneRoof. “I thought it would be relatively easily to renovate – and it wasn’t.”
Frazer paid $90,000 for the property in September 2021. He was busy finishing another renovation so he didn’t get round to his new project until early 2023.
For the first eight months, he lived on-site and he made do without hot water, a shower or a kitchen. “I’d go for a swim at the swimming pool every day and use their shower there.”
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The renovation took two-and-a-half years with Frazer choosing different styles for each area. “I thought it had to be something different. I just did it one room at a time,” he said.
The property’s footprint remained the same, but the layout had to be reconfigured. The cooler became a bedroom and the freezer room is now the kitchen. “I basically rebuilt the whole building. That’s why it’s taken so long.”
Frazer’s love of wood-finishing is evident throughout the home and he’s particularly proud of the dining room panelling, which he made from reclaimed rimu, and the two skylights.
“They are fabulous. One is in one of the bedrooms and you can lie in the bed and at certain times of the year the moon will go across it and it’s just terrific. You can see the stars through it.”
The wooden panelling in the dining room using reclaimed rimu found on a farm is one of Frazer’s favourite features. Photo / Supplied
His unique renovation even caught the attention of the West Gore House and Garden organisers, who included it in their recent tour.
More than 230 people traipsed through its doors in one day and Frazer said the feedback had been incredible. “A lot of people said to me this is the best house out of all of them – only because it’s different. A lot of houses in there are actually quite new houses.”
Frazer said he was unsure who the next buyer would be, but was certain it would be someone who liked something different. “It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, I know that.”
Bayleys listing agent Julie Mitchell said it had been very exciting to see someone take on the project and get such a fabulous result.
“Gary has grabbed the opportunity and put blood, sweat and tears in to create a gorgeous home while utilising the original features of the property,” she said.
“The right buyer will take one step inside and fall in love with what has been created and the uniqueness.”
The location was also convenient because it was in an elevated location just a five-minute walk from the river and a 10-minute walk to the centre of town.
Mitchell could not be drawn on the price because they were still getting pricing feedback, adding that there was nothing else like it in Gore. “That’s what makes it so special really.”
- 28 Huron Street, East Gore, Gore, goes to auction on December 12
