Client: Willis Bond
Project Type: Residential
Project Timeframe: May 2022 - July 2024
Architects: Architectus
Ratings:Not Applicable
The 13-level waterfront building at Catalina Bay has 73 apartments in two towers, and nine townhouses located in a concrete podium. The high-end residences feature floor-to-ceiling glazing that provides natural light and panoramic views of Waitemata Harbour.
Each apartment and town house has been individually designed. Living and kitchen areas are spacious with high ceilings, bedrooms are private and comfortable, bathrooms are luxurious, and balconies have plenty of room for leisure and entertainment. The fine finishes are a tribute to LT McGuinness’s Interiors team and subcontractors.
Sustainability was a core design concept, with Catalina Bay designed to a Homestar-7 rating which delivers warm and healthy homes that are more cost effective to run.
The site occupies 16,000m2 and more than 2200 people worked there during different phases of the 28-month build.
Residents are within minutes’ walk of bars and restaurants, a popular Farmers Market, and a co-working space. These features were all part of the first stage of the development, in an area that was once home to a Royal New Zealand Air Force base where Catalina Bay flying boats were launched. The Catalina Bay Apartments are the second stage. Both stages have been designed and built to acknowledge and retain that aviation history.
Design of the project began in 2016. It was launched in 2020 only for sales to be interrupted by the pandemic lockdown, with the build finally getting underway in May 2021.
The foundations, podium and superstructure were built during a period that felt like three back-to-back winters, with the 2023 summer providing more rain than sun. Cyclone Gabrielle hit in January 2023 when the foundations and half-basement were in full swing.
The key to the project’s success was the collaborative effort of client, consultants and contractor.
The team had worked well together on earlier projects including the award-winning Wynyard Central and Madden Apartments.
