Point Chevalier bungalow next to New World supermarket eyed for Crown acquisition

After years of holding out for a better offer, a family’s humble Pt Chevalier home marooned next to a giant supermarket could finally have a buyer.

The Herald can reveal that NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is in discussions with the owner of the three-bedroom property at 12 Parr Rd – the last remaining privately owned residence bordering New World’s massive new supermarket.

The freehold 580sq m site sits in the draft route designation for the Northwest Busway project and may need to be acquired by the Crown.

The house has a CV of $1.525 million and is nearly 100 years old. It has been owned by Albert John Andrews (known as John) since he purchased it in the 1950s.

Andrews has now moved to New Windsor but his adult sons David, 70, and Kevin, 72, still live in the house.

They spoke to the Herald this week after NZTA confirmed the property may be needed as part of a Pt Chevalier busway interchange and that “engagement” with its owner was “ongoing”.

The bungalow is a time capsule from a bygone era that seems to be untouched by the passing decades.

Paint is peeling from the roof. A lone mandarin tree stands in the backyard in the shadow of the towering supermarket, which looms over the back fence.

Inside, ammunition shells are displayed on shelves. A timber saw blade and old paintings adorn the fading walls.

All the other homes on the street have gone. On one side of the Andrews’ house is a concrete accessway for supermarket deliveries. On the other is a “click and collect” grocery collection point for busy shoppers.

Foodstuffs paid $2.5m for the house next door to the Andrews’ home in 2022.

It has been reported that John, who is now 95, refused the same offer from the grocery giant, believing his ageing castle was worth more.

The family dispute this but admit they won’t agree to sell unless they can afford to relocate to a similar property, preferably in the same area.

David said they were willing to part with the house where he and Kevin grew up but were yet to find a buyer, despite the property being on the market for several years and a for sale sign planted on the front lawn.

“We had some inquiries, that was early days, but things have quietened down.

“It is commercial land. Why should we just give it away?”

Crown emerges as potential buyer

Then out of the blue, the family received correspondence late last year from NZTA about the busway project and its implications for their home.

David said the transport agency expressed “interest in purchasing the property”, indicating there would “be some discussions”.

Asked if the family were interested in negotiating a potential sale to NZTA, David said: “I suppose we are.”

However, he said there had been no further correspondence and the family were now wondering where they stood.

“We’ve had two letters in the post and there’s been no communication since,” David said.

“I just assumed because they didn’t contact us again we weren’t that important in their mission.”

An NZTA spokeswoman told the Herald the Andrews’ home was within the busway project’s designation and was therefore earmarked for potential acquisition.

Several nearby properties were recently purchased by NZTA for the interchange project. They included a burnt out “eyesore” at 8 Parr Rd – described as the ugliest house in Pt Chevalier, which is now set to be demolished – and two neighbouring commercial properties on Great North Rd.

The spokeswoman would not say whether the agency was considering making an offer on the Andrews’ home.

“We’re not able to comment on discussions or engagement with individual landowners.”

The Herald understands the transport agency has tried to liaise with the family in recent months and those attempts are continuing.

David said his family would consider an offer from NZTA if one materialised.

And while they hoped to relocate within the same neighbourhood, Point Chevalier property prices weren’t cheap – with average prices pushing north of $1.65m.

The family knew it would be difficult to find a similar home in the now gentrified suburb. Many of the new properties were multi-level infill housing “with no off-street parking”.

Kevin said they would be looking for “replacement value” for what they currently had – three bedrooms with double garaging “on a full site”.

“Around here is quite expensive,” he conceded.

‘They can’t afford to buy in this area’

Listing agent Shirley Daniels of Beckett Real Estate said Foodstuffs met with the family last year and made a formal offer for the house.

However, the offer was below CV and was declined by John, she said.

“It wasn’t enough to buy [in the neighbourhood].

“They want to stay in Pt Chevalier but they don’t know how.

“They can’t afford to buy in this area and they can’t afford to move.”

A Foodstuffs spokesman said: “This is a potential property transaction between two independent parties, so it would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”

Daniels said she had fielded a few low-ball offers from other potential buyers over the last year – one for $1m and another for just $900,000.

But the busway interchange designation had altered the landscape completely, she said. She was now encouraging the family to negotiate with NZTA.

The reality was that the property could be compulsorily acquired if necessary under the Public Works Act.

If the family failed to engage they could get “pushed out”.

“This is different now. We need to talk about this as a family.”

She planned to discuss other potential suburbs that may be more affordable.

House filled with memories, older brother in ‘no hurry’ to move on

The brothers recalled growing up in Pt Chevalier in the 1950s and 60s, when things were very different.

David remembers riding bikes, racing trolleys and building tree huts.

“We knew everyone in the street, not like today. Now you’re lucky to know your neighbours.”

It was a “DIY neighbourhood” back then, David said.

“Fixing things, making things. That was the way things were in the olden days.”

Kevin said the area had “changed heaps”.

He attended Avondale College and remembered receiving “three of the best” from the “hardest caner in the school” for some long-since forgotten indiscretion.

“I managed to come through it and then I was the class hero because I survived.”

The family moved away in the 1970s and the house was rented out.

But David, who was a signwriter, moved back in 1983 and his brother, a builder, joined him a few years later.

They are now both retired. Their elderly father was “slowing down” a bit but still “calls the shots”, David said.

If they were to sell it would be a group decision – “but let’s see what happens”.

Kevin said while he was ready to pass the old home to a new owner, it was filled with a lifetime of memories – some good, some bad.

“I’m in no hurry.”

Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.

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