A
pair of Wellington sex industry magnates appear set to make
Auckland their home, with the purchase of a $6.65 million
house in the city.
The Hong Kong-born Chow brothers plan to build a 15-storey
brothel and hotel near the Sky Tower, and they have bought 5
Fenton Circus in Orakei to use as a base.
Company records show the house above Paritai Drive was
purchased through NZ Project 7, of which Ka-ming Chow (John)
and Ka-yu Chow (Michael) are both directors.
The 647sq m concrete home with harbour views sits on a 1393sq
m section and has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a
swimming pool.
It sold for $650,000 above its capital value of $6 million
and the annual rates bill is currently $16,139.
It used to belong to multimillionaire property developer Tony
Gapes, but the sale was hindered when his ex-wife Nicola
Gapes put a caveat and notice of claim on the property.
But the sale was given the green light by the High Court in
December.
Bayleys real estate agent Gary Wallace would not discuss the
new owners. "It's a quality home in a great location that
attracted a good quality interest from a range of buyers."
The Chow brothers, who usually stay at Albert St's Stamford
Plaza when they are in Auckland, are widely known in
Wellington through their investment in strip clubs and
brothels, including The Mermaid, Il-Bordello and Splash.
Through their company PHVS Project, they were granted
resource consent for their "mega-brothel" in Victoria St on
the former grounds of the Palace Hotel, which was demolished
after large cracks appeared in its walls.
The Herald can also reveal that despite an initial 200
objections, the Environment Court has not had any appeals
against the decision. Submitters had 15 working days to do
so.
Auckland Council spokesman Nigel Horrocks said the Chows
could now start building when they wanted.
"There's been absolutely no appeal whatsoever, so that appeal
has now lapsed and it is now up to PHVS Project Ltd to do
whatever they plan to do ... They now have permission to
construct a 15-storey building."
The venture brings to 10 the number of brothels in the
central city, including two others in the same vicinity of
the SkyCity casino.
Neither the Chows nor lawyer Russell Bartlett returned calls
yesterday.
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