Auckland’s Te Atatū Peninsula has become a hotbed of development over the last few years. Pretty much everywhere you turn, it seems, there’s a new terraced townhouse project popping up.
This is the story of how—amidst that sea of sameness—two young developers saw an opportunity to do something a bit different, creating a beautiful, design-led development offering a sense of community for first-home buyers.
And all with a bit of help from JB, and the team at Squirrel.
Two of the finished homes are on the market now, to be sold by deadline sale later this month. Check out the Trade Me listings below to find out more—or watch the video below.
- 24 Clinton Ave (deadline sale 25th September)
- 26 Clinton Ave (deadline sale 25th September)
When developers Jessica Driver and Thomas Ward picked up neighbouring properties on Clinton Ave, Te Atatū—backing onto Durham Green—there was a fleeting moment where they considered going down the townhouse development route.
With almost 2000m2 of land to play with, and in an area zoned for terraced housing, they could easily have fit up to 14 or 15 units on the site, building up to five storeys high.
Ward says, “What gave us pause there was the fact that we’d seen so much terraced housing go up in Te Atatū, and around Auckland generally, over the last few years, and it all kind of looked and felt the same—a bit dull and lifeless. It’s hard to imagine it’s the sort of thing anyone really wants to live in, but there’s not a whole lot of other options out there for first home buyers these days.
“The starting point for all our development projects is that we want the finished product to be something that we’d be happy to live in. So, we started to think about how we could approach the space a bit differently—and that’s when we had the idea of using relocatable homes instead.”
Breathing new life into old housing stock
Relocatable homes are older, existing houses that have been removed from their original site, generally to make space for new developments.
High levels of development in New Zealand in recent years has created an excess of relocatable housing stock in the form of quality weatherboard homes, often built in the 1950s and 1960s.
“The idea of using relocatables for this development ticked a lot of boxes for us. These old weatherboard homes are built to a very high standard—often using native timber, so they’ve got really solid bones—and they’ve got so much charm and character. It’s also good for the planet, because you’re preventing these otherwise perfectly liveable homes from end up in landfill. So, it felt like the perfect way for us to tackle density a little bit differently, and deliver something unique to the market,” says Ward.
After moving the existing houses towards the back of the Clinton Ave properties, Driver and Ward sourced four other relocatable homes from across Auckland and Hamilton and moved them onto the site. The properties have been subdivided, meaning each of the homes is freestanding on its own freehold title.
“We had pretty strict criteria in terms of choosing the homes. They needed a minimum of three bedrooms—one of them has four—and the living areas had to be northern-facing to enable us to make the most of natural warmth and light. And the fact that they’re all single-storey weatherboard homes means they fit really well into the local environment.
“Our goal was to try and preserve the original look and feel of the homes as much as possible. Once we got them on-site, we stripped everything back to the framing and put in new wiring and plumbing. With a couple of the houses, we've knocked down an internal wall or two, just to help improve the flow of the kitchen and dining space—but otherwise we’ve kept the structural work to a minimum,” says Ward.
A seventh, smaller lot has also been set aside for a tiny home, to be completed once the other homes have been sold.
“Good design doesn’t have to be expensive”
When it came to the interiors, Ward and Driver have taken a design-led approach, with the goal of adding character while maintaining the unique aesthetic of each of the homes.
Says Ward, “For a lot of developers, the aim of the game usually is to try to get as many units on a site as possible, for the least amount of money—so the design aspect kind of falls by the wayside. It means the finished product is often pretty bland.
“I’m an architect by trade, so I wear both hats. It’s about balancing the cost concerns with wanting to deliver a finished product that you can be proud to put your name to. The fact is that good design doesn’t have to be expensive. You might spend a little more up-front, but the quality of the finished homes is going to be head and shoulders above a lot of what you see on the market.”
Creating a sense of community
Ward and Driver’s vision for the development was one of connection and community—and so designing outdoor spaces which supported that vision was a top priority.
“We didn’t want this to be one of those situations where there are all these people living in really close proximity to each other, and they never see each other, they don’t know each other. Throughout the build process, we kept thinking how cool it would be to see the homes go to a group of friends—to have people living next door to their best mates. That would be awesome.”
With that goal in mind, the shared driveway, which connects six of the seven lots, has been designed as a shared space for residents.
“The way we’ve done the planting and fencing around the shared driveway is really about encouraging interaction. It’s a space for young families to enjoy—where kids can go out and play while parents catch up over a coffee or a glass of wine, or where you could host a street party if you wanted to. The fact that the properties back onto Durham Green means there’s all that other space for families to run around in and enjoy as well.”
How working with Squirrel made it all possible
The state of the housing market over the last couple of years has made it tough to get new developments off the ground—and the fact that Driver and Ward were using relocatable home threw another spanner in the works.
“A lot of lenders won’t touch relocatables, because there’s so much more risk involved than what you get with a traditional development. John and the team at Squirrel really went into bat for us to get the project across the line—working through all the little details with our lender, to get funding locked in.
“As with any development, we had a few little niggles along the way, but John always thinks outside the box, and if an issue crops up, you can count on him to come up with a solution. We love the way his brain works,” says Ward.
Of the development, JB says, “I love this project because it fits my personality, and it’s so authentic and quirky. These are definitely unique homes which is hard to find these days.”
If you’re thinking of embarking on a development project and are keen to find out more about how Squirrel could help, get in touch with our team of development experts today.