Alan Wilcock has never had to turn on the heating in his inner-city apartment.
“I go out the door to get my newspaper in the morning and it’s freezing outside; but I come back into my apartment and it’s warm as toast.
“I get the sun first thing in morning through to the afternoon. You come home from work, open the front door and the warmth from the sun hits you. I would describe it as sun-drenched.”
Start your property search
Alan bought the apartment on level one of the Galleries building, 23 Graham St, central Auckland about four years ago.
Ask him why? “Location, location, location.”
“The location, the size of the apartment and it’s freehold. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two garages, huge ceilings and its north-facing.
“It’s right in the city centre and the size of the apartment is second to none. You don’t see these sizes of apartments being built in the apartment anymore.
And did he mention the views?
“They are inner city views but I do get little view of the harbour bridge and of the water.”
He can enjoy those views from inside the spacious apartment or step out to the balconies framed with full height glazing — one enclosed, one open — from the master bedroom suite or the living area.
“So at the front you have the open plan living are, the master bedroom with the walk-in wardrobe — that was a requirement for me — and en suite. And there two other bedrooms plus a full bathroom with a bath at the back.“
The kitchen is a “really good size and you have these amazing power points in the middle of the island bench that you push back down when you’ve finished using them. The big wide oven is gas, which people love, and of course there is a built-in microwave, dishwasher and pantry space. There is easily room for three or four stools at the island bench.”
He says living in the boutique building of just 24 apartments, with approximately 95 per cent of them owner-occupied, is like living in a small community.
“It is a good mix of people, retired, business people and some who use them as a bolthole in the city as they have another home elsewhere.”
If he feels peckish, Alan will head for one of the eateries in the same street ... Major Sprout, Scratch Bakery, Elk or where Graham St curves to become Hardinge St, Hello Mister, for Vietnamese street food.
It’s been a fantastic city space, he says, but it’s now on the market as Alan has a career move planned. The apartment is for sale by negotiation.
Bayleys agent Ellis Prince says this apartment has the advantage of being on the corner and having glazing right around plus a breezeway. “You can open up the apartment and it feels like a home rather than an apartment.
“The other thing is its high rate of owner occupancy. There is a real sense of community and you can see the evidence is the way the body corp maintains the building.“
Find out more about 23 Graham Street, Auckland CBD
