Apartments with no car parks reach central Hamilton
Monday, 27 August 2018
No car parking in apartment buildings is becoming a trend in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, and now it's being followed by Hamilton's Yeoman Homes.
Managing director Andrew Yeoman said they were popular so he decided to develop some in Hamilton.
'There was a story in the local media about an apartment development in Wellington that doesn't have any car parking. The story received truckloads of comments, so it seems to be quite a hot topic.
'It's also been a popular story in Auckland with Ockham developing Daisy Apartments successfully, and quite a lot of apartments and townhouses in Christchurch also without car parking. They are popular and sell out really quickly, because of the location and price.'
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'I know there are some people who won't like not having a car park nearby, but I am aimed at young people keen to save towards their first home and the increasing number of new immigrants who are used to living in apartments in cities and not having a car.
'They are are aimed at people who want the convenience of apartment living without the hassle of maintenance.'
Two more apartment buildings are soon to take shape in the central city for Yeoman Homes, with the demolition of an existing building at 1 Vialou St to begin in October.
Titled One Vialou, the 1100 square metre site will comprise 12 two-story units of 78sqm each, including a private outside courtyard, but no parking.
Yeoman Homes managing director Andrew Yeoman said he was aware some people might not like the idea of non-provision of parking spaces, but those people were not his target market.
Yeoman likes to travel and wherever he goes in Australia, the US and Britain, he checks out developments and picks up the popular trends.
This was evident in his Village Quarter Development of 43 apartments and 700 sqm of office and retail space completed several years ago on the corner of Hall St and Lake Rd in Frankton. It was finished in red brick and reminiscent of popular architecture in North America.
One Vialou will be a few hundred metres from several large supermarkets, entertainment facilities, including FMG Waikato Stadium and Seddon Park, and a few minutes' walk from a cafes, restaurants and cinemas.
'There is definitely a need to cater to what people want and this sort of development can be seen not only overseas but also in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The face of New Zealand has been changing over the past 10 years and there has become a need to cater for how people want to live.'
Prices at One Vialou will range from $489,000 to $499,000.
'Our target market is first-home buyers that would be eligible for the Home Start Grant of $10,000 or $20,000 for a couple, and people able to use KiwiSaver funds towards a deposit. In similar developments we have had young professionals looking to get a start on the property ladder with little deposit and in a great location.'
A second site at 15 Vialou St is vacant and ready for another Yeoman Homes development comprising 29 one- and two-bedroom apartments on three levels. This was planned to have parking, and details were still being worked out, Yeoman said.
'I'd like to buy more sites in the CBD. I believe it has more to offer with boutique shopping, casual dining, a new theatre coming, and growing employment opportunities.
'We sell everything we build before it's finished, with 95 per cent sold before we start. We get about half first-home buyers and half investors. We have about a dozen regular investors who will buy and then sell to owner-occupiers within a year.'
Yeoman said his company had built around 500 homes, apartments and townhouses in Hamilton. In the last year it has built 120 homes in Hamilton and has more than 180 in the pipeline.
'They are cheaper to buy in the planning stage.'
The Yeoman Homes central city developments will join three apartment complexes undertaken by CBD Developments, the Parkhaven mixed-use luxury apartment and commercial space building nearing completion in Tristram St, and a new apartment development next door on the former Waikato Toyota site, corner Tristram and London streets.