- A Hamptons-style mansion on Takapuna-to-Milford walkway is listed for $30 million after a major makeover.
- Agent Andrew Dorreen says the sale could set a new record for waterfront sales on the North Shore.
- The property features a world-class cinema and high-end fixtures, with renovations supervised by architect Jack McKinney.
A Hamptons-style mansion on Auckland’s Takapuna-to-Milford walkway is on the market with a price tag of $30 million after a multi-million dollar makeover.
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Precision listing agent Andrew Dorreen told OneRoof that, when 29 Minnehaha Avenue sells, it will set a new record for waterfront sales on the city's North Shore.
“This is the best of the best. This rebuild took over three and a half years,” he said as he gave OneRoof an exclusive tour of the just-completed home.
The vendors bought the property four years ago for $13.25m, but unforeseen circumstances mean they are unable to move into their dream home.
“Overall, 29 Minnehaha represents the finest example of luxury waterfront living ever to have come to the market," Dorreen says. "It’s classical architectural design, high-end fixtures and fittings, technology and amenities place it at the uppermost end of the luxury property market."
Listing agent Andrew Dorreen said the owners wanted the best, "and they got it”. Photo / Supplied
The home boasts a top-class cinema. The only other one of its kind in New Zealand is owned by Sir Peter Jackson. Photo / Supplied
Even the media room is jaw-dropping. It's actually a world-class cinema. “The only other one like this in the country is at Peter Jackson’s home,” Dorreen said.
"It’s a professional-grade home cinema, one of only three certified in New Zealand. It has over $1m of equipment and tiered seating for eight guests. The supplier must come in and certify the room’s acoustics and building before you are allowed to put in their equipment.”
The vendors pulled back to the studs, Dorreen said of their renovation. He estimates the tech underpinning the security, lighting, air conditioning and sound alone would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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While the original footprint of the house, built over 25 years ago by architect Ron Dijkmans, remains pretty much the same, Dorreen said the house was “unrecognisable”.
Architect Jack McKinney, well known for his luxury makeovers of character homes in Remuera and Ponsonby, supervised the re-design.
Reeling through the finishes on the house, the agent points out that things like the bathroom and kitchen fixtures, and the lighting from ECC are the most expensive in the country.
“There was zero consideration of budget. That didn’t even come up. The owners said, ‘Quite simply, we want the best’, and they got it.”
The main kitchen has a leathered stone bench with a built-in hob from Bora, double Wolf ovens and Liebherr fridges, plus two wine fridges (there are more in the separate wine room). The secondary kitchens - one in the ground-floor entertainment space, the other in the self-contained studio - have appliances from Fisher & Paykel and Miele.
The private estate is on the Milford to Takapuna walk. Photo / Supplied
The makeover was supervised by top architect Jack McKinney. Photo / Supplied
Dorreen said that the over 1000sqm waterfront site was rare enough, but the fact that there was a pohutukawa-filled council reserve on the property’s northern boundary meant its views and sun would never be built out (empty land sits to the other side).
Nothing was left untouched in the rebuild, Dorreen said.
Outside, the vendors installed a new roof, a new cedar-and-shingle siding, new windows and new doors, and redid the copper gutters, the pool and landscaping.
The luxury continued inside: custom Arts and Crafts-detailed panelled doors, tongue and groove ceilings with rough-sawn wood floors and custom carpets from Nodi.
By moving the staircase to one side, McKinney opened up the sight lines, so now the first thing visitors see is the sea. Look up, and there’s a dramatic cloud of frosted glass orbs filling the double-height gallery (that fixture costs over $61,000). Sliding doors of etched glass and bronze disappear into pockets in the wall, and the same doors are repeated on the custom wine cellar in the lower floor entertainment area.
The main floor houses multiple living rooms, one with a fireplace and another that could be used as a study or playroom, all opening out to the decks and sea view.
Dorreen sold a beach house on Blomfield Spa, in Takapuna, earlier this year to a New Zealand buyer for more than $15.7m. Photo / Supplied
The Blomfield Spa home, designed by Sumich Chaplin and built by Lindesay Construction, was inspired by the vendors’ time in the Californian village of La Jolla. Photo / Supplied
Dorreen describes the lower ground floor as the entertainment level, ideal for teens. It has two ensuite bedrooms, a living room/recreation room with a second kitchen, and a powder room that opens to the pool, as well as a walk-in wine room.
The top floor houses the generous master suite, which has two walk-in wardrobes, two marble bathrooms and a smaller bedroom that could be a nursery or private office. McKinney tucked in a window seat, and a private balcony as this room has the widest views, all the way through to Takapuna beach. There is a further bedroom and bathroom on this upper floor.
Above the four-car garage is the fifth bedroom.
A key part of the rebuild was that, despite its location on the popular walking trail, the house is designed so that people cannot see in.
“The pool, lawn and terrace are designed to be above eye-level from people walking past. The house is above the rock shelf, which is well above sea level," Dorreen said.
While the house is not formally on the market until the new year, the agent has already had interested buyers through.
“One spent two-and-a-half hours walking through last week. If you were trying to find a site to do this again, well, there are no such sites," he said.
“These days, you’d be looking at least $15m just for the land, and it would cost you $15m to build. Buying this would save you all that effort. It’s got everything,” he said.
The North Shore's record price of $28.888m, for a private deal on a beachfront house on neighbouring O'Neills Avenue, still stands from eight years ago. Last month, Dorreen set the year’s record of $15.7m when he sold a Sumich Chaplin-designed house on Blomfield Spa, Takapuna, although that sale has not settled yet. He noted that the property was on a smaller 736sqm section.
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