- Three apartments in Napier’s iconic T&G Building are for sale.

- The listings coincide with the city’s upcoming Art Deco Festival.

- Interest from local and overseas buyers is strong, says agent.

Three apartments in one of the country’s most photographed buildings are for sale for the first time in almost 20 years.

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The first-floor pads in Napier’s T&G Building, affectionately known as The Dome, have hit the market just as the city’s residents and visitors prepare to step back in time for the city’s Art Deco Festival next weekend.

Bayleys listing agent Kristen Hines told OneRoof the building was iconic. “It’s a big address in Napier ... it’s the jewel of Napier’s waterfront," she said.

“1 Emerson Street is the equivalent of 1 Queen Street in Auckland. It’s the most recognised and the most photographed art deco building in Napier.”

The T&G Building with its green oxidised dome on Emerson Street, in Napier, is one of the most photographed buildings in the country. Photo / Supplied

Everything 1930s from fashionable flappers to vintage cars will descend on the city during the annual Art Deco Festival next weekend. Photo / Supplied

The T&G Building with its green oxidised dome on Emerson Street, in Napier, is one of the most photographed buildings in the country. Photo / Supplied

The Ballroom apartment, located in the curved tower of the T&G Building, overlooks Marine Parade and is the largest one for sale. Photo / Supplied

The Dome was completed four years after the 1931 earthquake that devastated Napier and originally housed Temperance General Insurance.

Part of the building was converted into a residential apartment block in 2004. All four of the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments on the first floor are privately owned and were all purchased by the current owners not long after they finished.

The fact that all of these apartments had been tightly held by the current owners for about 20 years and were only now being sold by three of the four owners was a testament to just how special they were, Hines said.

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“That longevity demonstrates that – there’s four owners that have all been in there since the early 2000s.”

All three owners had different reasons for selling, but because they were listing them for sale at the same time, buyers had more options, she said. They could either buy one, or buy several and potentially knock through the walls to create a large or even a mega apartment.

The largest apartment, 3/1 Emerson Street, is 152sqm and is known as The Ballroom. It sits in the curved tower overlooking the waterfront and the interior design pays tribute to the glamour and elegance of the art-deco era while combining modern-day comforts, Hines said in her listing.

The local owners purchased it for $670,000 in 2006 and have been using it as their city bolthole ever since. “It’s the end of an era for them,” she said.

The T&G Building with its green oxidised dome on Emerson Street, in Napier, is one of the most photographed buildings in the country. Photo / Supplied

The owners of 2/1 Emerson Street are based in New York and bought the property sight unseen 21 years ago as their New Zealand base. Photo / Supplied

The T&G Building with its green oxidised dome on Emerson Street, in Napier, is one of the most photographed buildings in the country. Photo / Supplied

4/1 Emerson Street has breathtaking views over Marine Parade and has been run as high-end visitor accommodation for the last 20 years. Photo / Supplied

When news of their plans got out, the overseas owners of 2/1 Emerson Street decided to list their apartment too.

The New York-based couple had purchased the apartment sight unseen in May 2004 for $507,736, and have for years used it as their base in New Zealand. However, they don’t plan to return to New Zealand so the apartment is now surplus.

Meanwhile, the local owner of 4/1 Emerson Street has been using the apartment as high-end visitor accommodation since paying $460,000 for it in March 2005. Hines got the tap on the shoulder when she was photographing The Ballroom and now that apartment is on the market for sale.

The listings for the properties went live at the end of last week and interest from both locals and overseas buyers has been rolling in, said Hines.

All three apartments have RVs in the early to mid $1m.

In 2022 and 2023, the T&G Building underwent a major revamp which included repainting the building and recommissioning the clock on the top of the building that had not been ticking for more than a decade.

- 2/1 Emerson Street, 3/1 Emerson Street and 4/1 Emerson Street, in Napier, are for sale, deadline closing March 7