Luxury home to rise from ashes of Waiheke mansion

It's been a controversial issue for many on the island (Newshub.)
It's been a controversial issue for many on the island (Newshub.)

A colossal 1700 square metre home is being planned for the site of a Waiheke Island mansion which is due to be burned to the ground tomorrow morning.

Newshub can reveal plans for a luxury nine-bedroom, eight-bathroom property at Matapana Rd, to be built from the ashes of the old Boatshed Bay building.

The black weatherboard home and granite-tiled pool will sit alongside a tennis court and guesthouse, and in front of an 800m private beach.

Luxury home to rise from ashes of Waiheke mansion

The demolition by fire is a both a training exercise for the Waiheke Volunteer Fire Brigade, and a way to clear space for the luxury build.

It's been a controversial issue for many on the island.

No resource consent is required for the demolition, but a fire permit states it can only go ahead if prevailing winds carry smoke away from neighbouring properties.

Neighbour Siousx Douglas says some are concerned.

Luxury home to rise from ashes of Waiheke mansion

"Some of the people I've talked to have been pretty upset about the fact there's silk plastics and wood and all the treated timber that will be burning and being released into the atmosphere," she says. 

Ms Douglas says the news is drawing visitors to the street -- many of whom are not so worried.

"It's just another form of entertainment for them," she says. "But that's Waiheke -- you've got both sides of the coin."

Waiheke station officer Peter Rowe says risks have been addressed, and the exercise is invaluable to local volunteers.

"We don't get to do training on buildings of this age very often," Mr Rowe says. "The ability to have live fire training gives crews here at the Waiheke Fire Station a great opportunity to practice with the real thing."

The exercise is made possible by building's owners, Brent and Denise Sutton, who offered it to the Fire Service instead of removing it themselves.

The five-bedroom, two-storey home was previously owned by a trust linked to property developer Mark Hotchin, and bought by the Suttons in 2014 for $14.25 million.

The Suttons' fortune largely stems from the sale of the Sutton Group, a dairy processing company Mr Sutton built over the course of 30 years, which was sold in 2014 to French transnational Danone.

The value of the sale was never disclosed, but was large enough to need approval from the Overseas Investment Office, which deals with foreign purchases over $100m.

Newshub.