From campus to coast: historic villa to start new chapter

A historic villa that was the Alten Road Early Childhood Centre (ECE) for 23 years is about to embark on a new chapter.

Building 241 (B241) at 3 Alten Road, which has welcomed generations of tamariki and whānau since 2002, will be carefully relocated to make way for the construction of Building 230 (B230). The move follows the opening of Te Tupu o Te Tōrea, a modern refurbished early childhood centre at Carlaw Park in Parnell, allowing the Alten Road ECE to retire from its campus role.

B230 will house the Faculty of Law and a multi-functional performing arts space. Rather than being demolished, the villa in the space will be moved to Muriwai, where it will become a family home.

Originally built in the 1850s on Wynyard Street, the villa was relocated to Alten Road in 2002 to make room for the Sir Owen G. Glenn Building. Now, more than two decades later, it will be moved again, reflecting the University’s commitment to sustainability and adaptive reuse in the face of urban development.

Nat Warmington, a senior project manager for Property Services, says the idea of moving and selling the villa emerged during the early planning stages for B230.

“Initially, it was a tricky conversation regarding moving the ECE because it has been a home for children and families, but we have delivered a great new space, Te Tupu o Te Tōrea, which has been up and running since its official opening in April. The end result was positive, and it had to be done.”

Nat, originally from the United Kingdom, says it is “such a Kiwi thing” to move houses on the back of a truck.

“In the UK I had never seen a house be relocated. When I came here and was told that happens, I thought, what? With cranes?”

It helps that most buildings in New Zealand are timber, of course, and preparations are now under way to lift the wooden villa in sections onto trailers for its journey west. If the schedule holds, the relocation will be completed by 29 August, weather permitting.

“By finding the building a new home, we avoid unnecessary demolition and keep a piece of Auckland’s history alive,” says Warmington. “It is an adaptive reuse that supports our sustainability goals.”

A karakia was held on 15 August, led by kaiarataki Michael Steedman and representatives of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei to honour the people, events and purposes connected to the site over time and to look forward to the construction of B230.

“It’s a chance to acknowledge the legacy that everyone contributes to, past, present and future in moments like this,” says Steedman.

Once the B241 site is cleared, Naylor Love and their partners will begin work on 31 August, establishing the construction perimeter. This will encompass the lower half of Charles Nalden Lane, and the full footprint of the old buildings, including where B241 once stood. Neighbouring Building 242, the temporary courts installed ahead of the Hiwa development, will also be removed to make way for B230.

B241 features stained glass windows typical of its era. “Construction generates a significant amount of waste,” says Warmington. “By re-homing this building, we are diverting materials from landfill and preserving craftsmanship that cannot be replicated today.”

B230, which will face Wynyard Street, will be 13 storeys high and, as was successfully demonstrated with Hiwa, will use a tight piece of City Campus real estate with maximum efficiency. In addition to teaching spaces and the arts centre, it will include office space, postgraduate spaces and a moot court for the Law School.

Tristram Collett, associate director of Planning and Development, says the space being developed will be a great asset.

“This is the beginning of the construction phase for an important project that will complete the transformation of this part of the City Campus from a former service lane into a high-quality urban landscape and a gateway to Waipapa Taumata Rau.

“The new multi-purpose venue will support an exciting range of events and act as an anchor for a vibrant and active cultural precinct.”

All going to plan, B230 is expected to be completed in 2029.