Christchurch villa with the ‘Disney’ turret in search of saviour

A Christchurch nurse is looking for someone to take over the renovation project he started almost a decade ago.

Nick Allfrey bought the five-bedroom heritage-listed property that comes with its own Disney-style turret for $335,000 and set about restoring it to its former glory. Eight years in, he has decided to put the turn-of-the-century Queen Ann villa on the market for sale, with the hope a new owner be able to finish the task.

Allfrey told OneRoof he knew very little about the property back in 2015, when a work colleague offered to sell it to him “as is where is”.

“I went around and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this place is amazing’. I must have spent – I don’t know – 10 times going right around it, every room, it just seemed to go on forever,” he said.

The property had sustained some earthquake damage and needed a lot of care and attention.

“It was in a bit of disrepair when he had it, but you could still feel how amazing it was and all the unique features with it. I was blown away and I was like yip, this will be me, this will be cool, I will give this one ago.”

In the years since, Allfrey has completed some significant repair work, including strengthening the foundations, rewiring, upgrading the plumbing and installing a new kitchen sympathetic to its character style.

“I’ve tried to keep all the original features with the big massive chandeliers and stained-glass windows, all the woodwork and the (kauri) staircase,” he said.

“I think it’s come up pretty good, but just to get it to that next level of making it grand and beautiful and finishing it off I think it's for someone else to finish.”

The property now has an RV of $1.34 million, and Allfrey hopes someone with a bit more money sees the potential in the property and finishes the renovation.

“Everyone has got their own taste and their own vision and when they see a project or a house they want or their forever home and how they would like to do it and if that person comes in they can look past some of the things that need to be done on it.”

Allfrey said the 259sqm property, which sits on a 546sqm corner section, could be turned into something amazing.

The houses' protected exterior is a jewel in Christchurch’s architectural landscape and people walking in the central location overlooking the Avon River often stop and ask him about the home and even ask to have a look around.

“The turret is such a cool feature of it. People are always walking past or jogging because it’s quite a cool area because it’s around the city. People are always looking up.”

Sometimes he will look down from one of the upstairs rooms and see people waving up at him.

And it’s that inner-city location which he said is a real bonus as its close to the river, walking tracks and numerous restaurants, bars and cafes. The Oxford Terrace Gardens are just across the river.

The property was originally part the Barbadoes Street Cemetery reserve and both Allfrey’s villa and the neighbouring house, which is now owned by the Christchurch City Council, are category one historic buildings. Over the years it has had a range of uses including being divided into flats in the 1920s, the Riverside Lodge in the 1990s and a large family home like it is now.

Mike Pero listing agent Tina Briggs expects the property to interest a wide range of buyers including heritage/character property enthusiasts who are ready to put this charming home with social, architectural and cultural significance back to its former glory.

Briggs said the corner turret, handcrafted stairwell, stained glass windows, hallway arch, ceiling roses, chandeliers are unique and impressive standout features of the home. The home is to being sold by a deadline sale.

- 361 Cambridge Terrace, in Christchurch Central, Christchurch, is on the market by way of deadline sale.

By Nikki Preston