64 | The Wellington Company / Blacks Interiors: Laings Road Virginia Wright Bringing new life to old buildings The 1930’s Edison Building in Cuba Street has been restored and converted into contemporary apartments. DEVELOPMENT Founded in 1990 The Wellington Company Ltd. is involved in both residential developments and commercial properties, both new builds, and the restoration and repurposing of the old. With projects in Wellington, the Wairarapa and Christchurch, they’ve played a major role in the redevelopment of Wellington City’s urban centre. Their projects include a single-level laneway residential development in Te Aro, and the restoration and conversion of the 1930’s Edison Building in Cuba Street into contemporary apartments, and they’re behind some significant developments in Lower Hutt. Seeing the benefit to everyone of people choosing to live in city centres, co-directors Ian Cassels and Caitlyn Taylor have an eye for opportunities to revitalise heritage buildings and build communities around them, which is precisely what’s happening with the recently completed Laings Road Apartments “They both have a passion for bringing people in to live in the inner city, knowing that the infrastructure is already there and wanting people to enjoy what these centres have to offer like they do in cities overseas,” says Residential Sales Manager Rakesh Champaneri. The project was a Joint Venture (JV) with their like-minded colleague John Feast and Laings Road Residential Limited. With increasing numbers of untenanted commercial spaces in city centres all over the country, and Lower Hutt being no exception, what was originally built in 1959 as the Colonial Mutual Life Building has now been carefully restored and repurposed and houses 32 apartments on top of the ground floor. The ground floor continues to offer retail space as it has done for the last 70 years with an eclectic mix of hospitality, service and a variety of shops. What was three floors of office space now each feature 10 one- bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, and an additional two penthouses take pride of place on the rooftop. Once the building had been seismically strengthened and intensive remedial work completed, they turned their attention to the careful work of restoration. The exterior retains the beautiful curves, and the original steel crittal windows reflect the iconic art deco architecture of the era, while inside the brandnew apartments offer all the conveniences of contemporary living. Construction company and refit specialists Black Interiors, with their experience in turning commercial spaces into residential, worked to retain a sense of history while making the most of the building’s natural features. “A major appeal in all the apartments is the beautiful natural light that floods in through the generous windows they refurbished. They took a lot of care to keep the art deco lighting style in the stairwell, restored the original balustrade, and stayed with a Razzo type tile in the lobby space, to retain that art deco feel.” says Rakesh. The care taken in the restoration paid off, with only one of the penthouses still being available, and the bulk of the apartments having been bought by first time homeowners along with investors taken with the development’s obvious potential. But for those interested in heritage buildings turned into vibrant hubs of modern living, The Wellington Company and their team of heritage specialists have another restoration underway. They’re turning the 10 storey Avalon Building, the former home of TVNZ’s production hub, into another example of how to take a former commercial space and transform it into apartments full of unexpected charm that make the most of the heritage features and outstanding views that are part and parcel of the original building. 27C Dragon Street, Grenada North PH: 04 232 7003 E: wellington@hcf.co.nz www.hcf.co.nz Hills Commercial Floors. Proud to have our customers walk all over us. wwac@outlook.co.nz 022 353 4980 • CEILING SPECIALIST • ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS • PARTITIONING Wellington Walls and Ceilings Ltd WE HAVE WELLINGTON COVERED. Kane Hanna | Managing Director
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