Let’s say you have a supercar or two parked in your driveway and fancy the idea of an apartment in the city, but are worried about the parking situation. What do you do?
Well, there is now a solution for well-heeled supercar owners in the form of a new luxury apartment complex being offered for sale in Auckland’s Parnell suburb that comes complete with parking especially designed with supercars in mind.
“One Saint Stephens” features 27 apartments over six floors and features such amenities as a private dining area and lounge, a private New York-inspired ‘Speak Easy’ bar, a wellness area with sauna, steam and soak pool, and an outdoor pool and gardens.
But the interesting part for the car enthusiast comes lower down in the basement, where there are two parking levels that were designed in consultation with the Giltrap Group in order to ensure the specifications “met the requirements of a purchaser with treasured vehicles.”
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According to developer Martin Cooper of Experiences by Cooper, this included understanding clearance height requirements of entry and exit ramps, fitting out an on-site car grooming bay and considerations for electric vehicles, because supercars are heading that way too.
“Whilst other apartment projects and Auckland Council are looking at developments moving away from car parks, One Saint Stephens has listened to its clientele and done the opposite,” said Cooper.
“All apartments have two car parks and 50 percent have 3 or more. They are also wider, have options for EV charging, and, with an on-site dedicated car washing bay, One Saint Stephens is the home for car lovers."
The Giltrap Group has experience in getting extremely low, intimidatingly wide and excitingly expensive supercars in and out of underground parking, as the New Zealand distributor of such exotic marques as Lamborghini, Aston Martin, McLaren and Lotus had to plan for just that when it built its flagship headquarters on Great North Road in Auckland’s Grey Lynn back in 2017.
Housing dealerships for Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Bentley, the building has the service department underground, which required the design of a novel ramp to ensure no expensive front splitters were damaged when moving vehicles from floor to floor.
The ramps were built in a concave-convex "wave" so that even the lowest supercars wouldn’t bottom out in the building and the lessons learned here have been applied to One Saint Stephens.
While all of the apartments have two or three car parks included, for those with a somewhat larger collection of supercars, one particular apartment will likely be the most attractive.
Called “The One”, the flagship apartment in the complex is, of course, on the top floor and features “expansive, open plan living areas and covered terraces to the east, north and west to amplify the panoramic views present in all directions.”
But the most enticing part for the wealthy supercar fan is, again, in the basement, where the “showroom garaging”, also designed in consultation with the Giltrap Group, is.
Along with “significant walk-in storage”, there are also six oversized car parks, with the option for more “if the owner’s collection requires it.” Cooper says that with early consultation, this could be developed as a personal garage.
Of course, none of this comes cheap, and enquiries of “more than $22.5 million” are being taken for The One, which Cooper describes as “fundamentally the best apartment ever offered in New Zealand.”
Of course, the other apartments are cheaper, but let’s face it; who wants to be limited to just two or three supercars?
