I have lived in Wellington center for more than 2 years but I đin't pay much attention in the architecture, design or structures of the buildings. Partly because I feel like I didn't belong here yet. Until May this year, I got residency visa so I can finally call this place home and start looking to build my life. To do that, I have been apartment-hunting for the last three months. Thanks to that, I had the opportunity to discover Wellington from a different perspective.
In this post, I will share with you some of the interesting buildings that I viewed over the last three months.
1. Century City Signature Luxury hotel
The first building that I went to see was Century City Signature Luxury hotel, formally known as the Distinction Hotel, a 10-storey high structure designed in 2007. To me, the building looks quite new and interesting from the outside. I also got a pretty good impression after visiting a friend here. From the name you can guess this building was formerly a hotel but recently they have converted to an apartment type.
Century City Hotel, Tory Street, Wellington - This was how it looks when it completed in 2007 - Photo was taken from the REA document.
It is quite hard to take a photo of the whole building now as there are close-by buildings in front and next to it. Here is one of my attempts to capture the building itself.
I have no idea what the part with round-shape looking is for. Unfortunately, I didn't ask the REA about it and now when I tried to find out who the developer of this building to read more, I couldn't find them anywhere.
One of the thing that caught my attention is that every room in this complex has a balcony. So when I saw it, I was quite satisfied as I would like to set up a small garden to grow my own food. I have to say not many apartments that I saw here have a good size balcony like that.
The structure of the building looks quite sound. Because the wellington city center is earthquake prone area so when we look at an apartment, we have to make sure it meet the seismic rating standard, which is above 34%. As this building rating is 80%, it is considered as good. The REA explained that the building's good rating is due to structural steel superstructure at Level 2 and reinforced concrete frame structure at Level 1 on the ground floor.
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I didn't take photos when I go for viewings so I used these photos from documents that the real estate agent sent.
As it was used as a hotel, the interior design had been well looked after over the years. The hallway is decorated with interesting paintings and apartments are well-positioned to take advantage of sun light.
Everything sounds perfect and I almost came to a decision to purchase one apartment in this complex. However, when I checked on the review sites, many people complained that the soundproofing of the rooms was very poor, if buying to stay, it would be terrible to live with. Also, the price of a one-bedroom apartment here is about $370,000 USD, not really a reasonable price for a one-bed room apartment.
2. Fusion Apartment
Next is a smaller building, not far from Century City Hotel, the fusion apartments, built in 1999. This building looks quite weird from the outside. I have no idea what the concept is but I guess they designed this way to increase the privacy between each apartment.
Fusion Appartments, Jessie Street, Wellington built by Fusion Developments Limited
The apartment we looked at was quite small, only 43m2. However, it's quite lovely as the balcony facing north meaning I can grow many plants inside. I also like this one because the location is quite convenient, close to where I work and the supermarket and Sunday market. The building has only 4 floors. Although the Wellington Council confirmed that the building is fine and the building's seismic rating is ok. I still feel not sure just by looking at the building from outside. At the end, I didn't choose this one as I thought it was quite old so it may be hard to sell later.
Admittedly, most of the buildings in Wellington are quite old, there are those that built in between the 30s and 70s. The earth quake ratings for them are quite low. After few weeks of searching we decided to take a look at recently built buildings.
3. Soho Appartments
Soho appartments, build by Holmes group
Soho appartments was built in 2015. Knowing this, I feel that this could be a good place to stay because it is quite new. Again looks very beautiful on the outside, like a high-class apartment complex in Vietnam. But when I went to open home, I was completely disappointed. This building has 3 zones and the middle is still under construction. Moreover, there is only one elevator in the whole area, I have heard a lot of complaints about the long wait. Then building materials are not good. Everyone said stay away from that place so we didn't put in an offer.
4. Nouvo Apartment
Nouvo appartment built by Architecture Plus - View from a cricket field
I just happened to caught this photo on the wall of the cricket when they built this building in 2014
And another photo in 1951 where the place was just residential houses
Built in 2015 by a group of well-known developers in Wellington. Apartments in this complex are quite spacious with lots of light. Honestly, this is the apartment that me and my partner like the most. The location is not very convenient due to its proximity to the highway. However, with the new standard construction and double glaze, if the windows are shut, you will not be able to hear outside noise. We did put in an offer but it was our first time so we didn't win in the multi-offer solution.
How clever the way they designed the window. It can be easily slide away to let the fresh air in without interrupting the look and feel of the building - Photo credit: Architect Plus
5. Trinity Apartments
Trinity Complext, College Street, Wellington
The last building that I went to see and decided to buy is Trinity apartment complex. Not really a new building because it was built in 2006 but this apartment complex is considered one of the sound ones. The location is nice, the structure of the building is good and the price is affordable. I've read reviews online, together with all the body corp minutes, and I am really happy about how they operate the building and plans to keep it well-maintained.
The only downside is that there is no sunlight. However, this building has a large balcony area and they make an outdoor picnic area with BBQ for residents. Unfortunately at the end we found some leaking issues with the bathroom of the apartment and decided to walk away.
After a while looking for apartments to buy, I find it very difficult to get an affordable apartment with good living conditions. NZ is experiencing housing crisis and it is getting worst. I didn't know much about it until it's my turn to find a place to buy. I can see it costs a lot of money to just get an one-bedroom apartment and a lot of things can go wrong if we don't do our due diligence right. Lucky for us this time, we hired a really good building inspectors and he spotted right away the issue which may cause us stress, hassle and money to live there. Anyway, we will keep looking until we find something nice for us.
Below are some of the photos I took while we were out and about to see apartments. I think they are all heritage buildings. Every time I walk pass them, my mind always wander in the past: like how it looks when it first built without all the tall buildings next to it. I hope I can find out their history, how they were built and what they are used now so I can share with you on my next posts. Let me know in the comment what buildings you want to find out more.
