32 | Partnering up, a successful strategy 88 Investments Ltd is the development arm partnering with Otago Building Solutions. Otago: 88 Investments Ltd T T Hugh de Lacy “The Otago District Council recently changed the rules on dwellings on Residential One land, allowing two houses to be put on the one section provided they were attached.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT A residential development company with luck in its name is teamed with a building company to bring new houses and flats to Mosgiel, near Dunedin. Owned by Logan McLennan and Annabelle Culinane, 88 Investments Ltd is the development arm partnering with Otago Building Solutions to ensure the builders have an ongoing supply of work. Annabelle, who’s from Hong Kong, gave the investment company its name to reflect the Chinese belief that the number eight is lucky. Logan is in partnership with Chase Thomas of Otago Building Solutions, which is currently working through a succession of residential developments, mostly in Mosgiel. Logan and Chase have two staff working for them in the building business, bringing in subcontractors when needed for the work they don’t do themselves. They carry out some renovation work, but Otago Building Solutions mostly builds new homes, of which its current key project is a large – 492sqm – single-storey, four-bedroom home on Wingatui Road, Mosgiel, that’s been two years in the building so far. Featuring schist and plaster cladding, the architecturally designed mansion is just one of several projects the company has underway. Towards the more affordable end of the residential building market are two attached, two-storey houses on Gladstone Road, with work due to start soon, and two stand-alone dwellings on Inglis Street, both in Mosgiel. “The Otago District Council recently changed the rules on dwellings on Residential One land, allowing two houses to be put on the one section provided they were attached,” Logan says. “We saw an opportunity in that: there’s definitely a market for more affordable homes linked together on the same site in this way. There are a lot of one-bedroom homes in Mosgiel and Dunedin, and two-storey units like this are increasingly popular for people down-sizing. There’s plenty of choice for buyers, but everything sells – it just sometimes takes a little longer.” The projects are all owned by 88 Investments, which operates as a speculative builder in a market that Logan says is steady, despite recent interest rate and materials pricing challenges. Logan got into the building trade straight out of school, completed his carpentry apprenticeship and teamed up with Chase in starting Otago Building Solutions in Clyde, Central Otago, in 2017, before moving to Mosgiel a couple of years later. “We use 88 Investments to create work for the building company, and that’s been a successful strategy, even when building materials prices were going up, interest rates were a lot higher and house prices were coming down,” Logan says. “Those trends are now going into reverse, at least in terms of interest rates and residential property prices, and we’re confident our business model will continue to deliver for us in the improved economic environment. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has slashed interest rates in response to the country’s inflation bubble finally bursting after some tough years following the Covid 19 pandemic crisis, and it seems the green shoots of rising demand are becoming evident. Plasterboard Installation Ceiling Battening Plasterboard Stopping Fibrous Plastering Rikki Wetere P: 0800 333 118 M: 021 225 3657 ADVANCED Proudly supporting 88 Investments Ltd AWARD COATINGS LTD OVER THE TOP COATING SYSTEMS 23 McNab Street, Kenmure, Dunedin | 03 488 4731 | aaron@awardcoatings.co.nz SERVICES WE OFFER: PLASTER OVER BRICK & BLOCK • LOXO PANEL & BLOCK INSTALLATIONS EIFS INSTALLATION & COATINGS • PAINTING AWARD COATINGS LTD SUPPORTS 88 INVESTMENTS LTD MOSGIEL ITM IS PROUD TO SUPPORT 88 INVESTMENTS LTD
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