Duke & Cooke Property News

The Registered Master Builders Awards, held at Sky City in Auckland on Saturday night, saw Tasman Holdings walk away with the prize for the best new home under $250,000, while Ezebuild won the most expensive renovation category, for projects over $500,000.

The Tasman Holdings property was a two-bedroom-plus-study townhouse at 6 Di Vetro Way in the Wood. Bryan Turner, a co-owner of the company with his wife Lyn Marshall, said they had been developing small areas of the Wood for 12 years and designed the winning townhouse specifically for the site. A client bought the house from plans and had their own requirements incorporated, he said.

‘‘It’s a pretty rewarding win being in that first price bracket where it’s perhaps more of a challenge to get to that national status level. We’re still coming down to earth a bit. It’s just an awesome feeling for us and the owner to get this recognition.’’

The Ezebuild win was for the renovation of former United State businessman Alan Trent’s property at Venture Cove. It also won the Placemakers bathroom excellence award.

The 2009 House of the Year title went to PSL Construction, of Auckland, for a home in Glendowie, Auckland. Naylor Love’s Central Otago division took out the supreme award for commercial projects for the Alpine Aqualand in Queenstown.

The 100 finalists were selected from 548 entries in 20 regional competitions.

Printed and distributed by NewpaperDirect | www.newspaperdirect.com, US/Can: 1.877.980.4040, Intern: 800.6364.6364 | Copyright and protected by applicable law.

NINE HOMES PLANNED FOR NEEDY

JENNIAN Homes is building nine ecofriendly homes in one of Richmond’s newest subdivisions for people desperately in need of affordable housing.

The two-bedroom, semi-detached townhouses in Bramley Estates, on the corner of Wensley Rd and Bateup Rd, will be owned by the Nelson Tasman Housing Trust and rented out at about 75 per cent of market rental.

Trust chairman Keith Preston said the project had been made possible by a $2.2 million grant from the Canterbury Community Trust, which also provided $ 1.2m for a similar four-house development in Golden Bay.

RESIDENTS PITCH IN TO PROTECT CHURCH

The distinctive St Paul’s Lutheran Church has been a feature of Upper Moutere for 104 years. The distinctive St Paul’s Lutheran Church has been a feature of Upper Moutere for 104 years. The church is the second to be established on the site.The original was built in 1864, but was demolished in 1905 as the kahikatea (white pine) it was made of was ravaged by borer.

URBAN DESIGN PANEL TO GIVE EXPERT ADVICE

THE Nelson and Tasman councils have formed a panel to spearhead better urban design.

The panel is made up of a group of qualified professionals including its chairman, Wellington architect and urban designer Graeme McIndoe, who has chaired the Wellington Waterfront Technical Advisory Group for several years, and is a member of the Auckland waterfront advisory group.

The remaining 10 members of the panel include Christchurch architect and convenor of the city’s urban design panel David Sheppard, Wellington architect Ian Athfield, Christchurch landscape architect and member of the city’s urban design panel Grant Edge, Nelson architects Ian Jack, John Tocker, and David Wallace, Nelson landscape architect Liz Kidson, Nelson planner Jackie McNae, Mapua urban design and landscape architect Robin Simpson and Wellington planner Jane Black.

The panel will provide free independent design reviews for projects from private developers and the councils.

City council environmental policy manager Martin Workman said that improving urban design was a priority for the councils and both were signatories to the New Zealand Urban Design Protocol.

Mr Workman said the panel would not be able to decide on resource consent applications, but it could provide advice and clear recommendations on the design of a proposal, and how it might be improved well before a resource consent application was made.

The panel’s first meeting is scheduled for December 1, and one of its initial projects is the new medical centre proposed for Collingwood St.

Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall said it was important that the region’s developed environment was good enough to match the natural beauty of the region.

Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne welcomed the opportunity for reviews.

TASMAN EYES ARTS CENTRE PLAN CAUTIOUSLY

NELSON City Council representatives sat down with their Tasman counterparts yesterday hoping to convince them to back financially the proposed $28 million regional performing arts centre. City councillors and staff made a presentation at the Tasman District Council chambers in Richmond to explain the controversial project and to answer questions on potential joint funding. City council technical services senior executive Alec Louverdis outlined the project's proposed $28m cost and a worst-case ongoing-cost scenario of $3.8m each year if the centre did not make any income. Submissions on the project close next Tuesday with public hearings between December 1 and 4. About 280 submissions have been received so far.

ALL IN THE NAME OF ART

IN A curious twist on namesakes, Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage Chris Finlayson celebrated artist Chris Finlayson's newly restored Aotearoa mural on Nelson's waterfront yesterday. He thanked the 28 volunteers who had helped him restore the landmark mural that he first painted 25 years ago on the wall of the Plant and Food Research building, which originally housed Nelson's first electricity generator. The mural project had been a council initiative and he had been asked to pick some buildings for public art. The minister revealed to the crowd at the official unveiling on Wakefield Quay how confusion over their names had worked to his advantage. He said Aotearoa was his idea, which came from the heart. It brought mythology into the present land of the long, white cloud. Nelson MP and Minister for the Environment Nick Smith said the mural was often photographed as a celebration of Nelson, and it was an inspiration for what it was to be a Nelsonian.

APARTMENT MARKET MATURING

Bayleys agent Julie Ambrose says the Nelson apartment market is ‘‘coming of age’’. Two apartments sold in the city last month. One was a three-bedroom place at 2/27 Shelbourne St with a 2006 rateable value of $750,000 that fetched $900,000 – the price it was listed for in January, according to Real Estate Institute statistics. Meanwhile, a one-bedroom apartment in the Latitude 41 building at 2/269 Wakefield Quay that was listed for $325,000 in January sold for $290,000. Its 2006 RV was $265,000. Ms Ambrose said the market for apartments had been ‘‘quite buoyant’’ over winter, with sales consistently achieving above RVs. ‘‘The only building that falls close to RV is the Sands (at Tahunanui),’’ she said.

TASMAN GLASS EXPANDS

Tasman Glass is expanding on to a neighbouring property in the Wakatu Industrial Estate. Managing director Aaron Fitzgerald said the extension would enhance the company’s manufacturing abilities. ‘‘We’re developing the business to the next level. We need to have more room to stock more products, do more manufacturing and run a more efficient operation.’’ The company hoped to have the new building operational by the middle of next year, and staff numbers would also increase at that time, he said.

PORT HILLS PROPERTY SELLS

A three-level Port Hills home that was said to offer ‘‘a level of luxurious living seldom available in Nelson’’ has sold for $1.687 million through Harcourts. The property at 3 Albert Rd has a 2006 RV of $1.27m and sold in October, with settlement taking place earlier this month, according to Quotable Value information. Harcourts sales manager Mike Rollo said it was the last of three ‘‘premium’’ adjacent properties to be sold by agent Caroline Fletcher for the one owner, creating considerable interest from several parties offshore.

DIVA TO OPEN FOR CHRISTMAS

Australian-based jewellery retailer Diva is opening a branch on the corner of Trafalgar and Hardy Sts in Nelson. First National commercial agent Jim McNabb said the former Telecom store would undergo a major refit in time for Diva to open there before Christmas.

SIGGIES SIGNS ON THE MOVE

Siggies Signs is on the move. Summit commercial agent Tim McQuade said the business was shifting to a site in Forest Rd that had been vacant for eight weeks. ‘‘With their signwriting business becoming more mobile and advances in computer technology, it makes economic sense to move from their current large Quarantine Park premises to a smaller site just around the corner.’’ Siggies planned to be operating from the new site from November 30, he said.

REPRIEVE FOR POTS N PRINTS

The Pots n Prints store in Tahunanui has been spared from closure, with new owners Ann and Roger Robertson taking over this month. Ainslie Riddoch founded the business 20 years ago, and planned to shut it down if she couldn’t find a buyer. Mrs Robertson said she had previously worked in the health sector but had an ongoing interest in arts and crafts. ‘‘It’s a lovely change.’’ The six-days-a-week store would continue to provide an outlet for arts and crafts people from Nelson and throughout New Zealand to sell their goods, and an online store was also under development, she said.

DID YOU KNOW

Duke & Cooke is Nelson’s longest-established property consultancy practice offering a wide range of services in the Nelson and Tasman region.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."