An artfully-renovated Arrowtown crib’s been attracting phenomenal pre-auction interest.
At 12 Norfolk Street, the property — owned for the past 10 years by Queenstown/Auckland gallerist Pauline Bianchi — is among 15 being auctioned today by Bayleys’ Queenstown office.
At 660 square metres, it in cludes a two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage, a separate one-bedroom guest cottage with ensuite bathroom, generous off-street parking and a private backyard garden.
Bianchi bought the crib — built in 1970, the year she was born — from a Te Anau farming couple who’d used it as a holiday bach.
‘‘When I first moved in it had cream carpet and bright purple and bright green walls.’’
She did a full restoration with new features like historic pressed steel panels she’d been collecting from Dunedin demolition yards, and timber flooring.
There are also about 15 artworks she’s collected from her favourite artists — along with a furniture package, they can be purchased separately.
There’s also a collection of old scales.
‘‘It was the absolute best place to bring up a child,’’ Bianchi says.
‘‘It has the ultimate backyard with the quintessential-Kiwi 10-metre vege garden, the playhouse, the spa pool, the sandpit, the apple and quince trees, the grapevine.
‘‘It was just a walk across to the road and you drop down to those tracks [by the Arrow River].
‘‘And the guest cottage was just the cream on the top, because in the early years, when I was just starting [in business], I’d rent it out, then I had a nanny in there for five years and then I just kept it for friends and family.’’
Bayleys Queenstown agent Hemi Brown says in just a few weeks his listing’s attracted ‘‘a completely incredible response’’.
As a result, early on he switched the sales method from deadline sale to auction.
As of last Friday, there’d been about 80 inquiries, 50 viewings and thousands of online views.
‘‘I knew it would be popular because it looks so good, but it’s surprised me how popular.
‘‘It’s been really, really hard to put a value on it,’’ he adds, suggesting its rateable value — $1,210,000, including $890,000 for the land — isn’t any real guide.
Generally, the value of an Arrowtown crib’s mostly in its land, but this is different, Brown admits.
In addition, he points out the property has a medium-density zoning under the proposed district plan, meaning it could be subdivided or a second dwelling could be built, albeit within town design guidelines.
Brown says there’s been interest from those wanting a holiday home and, for fly-in, fly-out professionals wanting a second work-from-home base.
‘‘There’s also been quite a few locals looking to downsize.’’
Today’s auction runs from 12pm at Sofitel Hotel.
