For more than a century, the character villa at the bottom of the hill on Brook St in Nelson has housed various families, but it has stood vacant since the 2022 flood due to the threat of landslips and now it has the chance of a fresh start with a new view.
It has already been shifted once when it was relocated to Brook St a couple of decades ago and now it might get the chance to be loaded onto a truck and go for another ride.
It is one of 10 properties on the street that have been purchased by the Nelson City Council at a cost of $6.7 million after the council-owned hillside became unstable following the August 2022 flood and then more heavy rain a few months later.
Now the mix of houses, that range from the early 1900’s villa to a three-storied alpine-style home, are for sale to potential homeowners who are prepared for a project once they have been taken apart, trucked and pieced back together.
Chaneys Real Estate principal, Grant Chaney, says all the homes have stories behind them and while it has been a hard process for the homeowners who can no longer live in them, there are potentially positive outcomes for the houses.
“The owners can move on and it’s positive in that respect and positive for someone else who can get a good house at a good value.”
Grant says, all the houses are being sold by tender with no reserves and the aim is to find buyers who can shift the houses off the land so the council does not have the cost of removing them.
“There are some quite cool houses that will relocate really well. It’s amazing what they can do these days and programmes on TV have made people more aware of the possibilities.”
Real estate consultant Krystal Henderson says there has been considerable interest and quotes have been sought from relocatable housing companies.
On Brook St, she says the villa is the firm favourite for relocating, but there is interest across the board.
“Most people have their own land and some are looking at the houses as a project and a more affordable option than building.”
Council’s acting group manager infrastructure, David Light, says that once the houses are removed, a bund will be installed with stormwater controls at the bottom of the properties to protect services, the road and properties across the street.
The land will be returned to its original state and he says there is potential for it to be vested as part of the Tantragee Reserve.
Originally, the council had planned to remediate three slips that affected the properties as part of the $17.3 million slip-repair package approved in May 2023.
Further rainfall and geotechnical investigations meant the proposed work was no longer fit for purpose as there was an increased risk of future landslips.
Money from the sales will be used to offset the cost of deconstructing any remaining houses and remediating the land.
