Howick residents with an eye on D3 Development’s Instagram page may have seen that the roof has now gone on one of the blocks at Oaken Residences, the exciting new development right at the heart of the village.
Construction is going great guns and things are ticking along nicely, says Scott Illingworth, director of developer D3 Development. The project is being managed and constructed by D3’s sister company, C3 Construction, and building is expected to be complete around late June of next year.
“We’re fully funded to get the job done and we’ve got our own in-house construction team motoring along – it’s all happening at this amazing location,” says Illingworth.
He’s excited that members of the community and prospective buyers are now able to see the significant progress that’s being made.
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“You’re in the ground for so long putting in drainage and pouring slabs, now the framing has gone up and we have a roof on the courtyard block, it’s all moving quickly.”
Located on a north-facing corner site in the eastern village, Oaken Residences is made up of 31 townhouses that come in two-to-three bedroom options. Inspired architectural design by award-winning Leuschke Group Architects promises the ultimate in easy, modern, low-maintenance living.
“We’ve got quite an array of different layouts to suit people’s unique need and wants,” says Illingworth.
“Of the 17 that are still for sale, all have internal garaging and only nine are left which have their own personal lift (17 total on-site have lifts). While some people have said they don’t need one, others are planning to use it to bring their groceries up from the garage.”
The demographics they have seen in buyers to date are typically young professionals all the way to downsizers from the community that aren’t quite ready for a retirement home.
The roof has gone up on one of the blocks at Oaken Residences.
Each townhouse has its own deck or courtyard, plus a central courtyard where residents can meet and mingle.
“They like the freehold title and they know that if they need to sell it, they can, and don’t have to give any money back as is the case with a retirement home. They’re gearing up for an easy lifestyle and are really excited to enjoy the benefits of a brand new, lock-and leave home in the suburb they love.”
Oaken Residence’s design has been inspired by the old-English architecture the area is renowned for, as well as the village itself and the people who live there, says Leuschke director Rob Knight.
“We were being respectful of the area. I’m actually a Howick boy and grew up out that way so understand it well. It’s one of Auckland’s more traditional villages, so we were trying to capture that,” he says.
“It’s a very strong community – I don’t think people want to up sticks and move too far away. It all aligns and they are getting a lot of local buyers, so it’s good to see that approach has proven itself.”
Illingworth says that the durable brick facades not only look great, they perform really well acoustically, as do the window systems.
In the spirit of classic Kiwi indoor outdoor living, each townhouse has its own deck or courtyard, along with the central courtyard, which will hopefully end up a social hub for residents.
The 31 townhouses come in two-to-three bedroom options and promise easy, modern, low-maintenance living.
D3 Development director Scott Illingworth says: “Of the 17 that are still for sale, all have internal garaging and only nine are left which have their own personal lift.”
“Cherie and Lisa, our agents, have said that everyone who has purchased is like-minded and great to deal with, so it feels like the community is already taking shape,” he says.
“The progress and obvious quality and design have inspired a flurry of recent interest and activity, including from team family members. I’m currently writing up a contract for the project manager’s grandmother – Liam is working on-site running the project for C3 Construction. We caught up with her last week and it suits her, with family nearby and built by her grandson.
“It’s a great story and testament to the development – we’re proud that our family have their faith in us. We do try to create projects that we can drive past forever and be proud of.”
Cherie and Lisa had just returned from a 90-minute site visit when they spoke to OneRoof.
“We thought we’d be there 30 minutes but there’s just so much to soak in, we love it and are very proud to have the responsibility of selling the Oaken properties,” says Cherie.
“We were able to touch the bricks, the windows are there going in and the roof is on some of them. We’re very surprised at how spacious the homes are and also very pleasantly surprised at how wide the driveways are. It’s got a really good feel – high quality and classy. We’re really getting some traction now, enquires have doubled in the last week.”
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