• The Legacy Property rethinking.space team, from left; Mike Beazley, Gary Gordon, Claire Beazley, Mitchell Jefferson and Chris Drum.
  • Mike Beazley
  • Gary Gordon.
  • Artist's Impression of the space:2 apartments at 3 Burns Avenue, Takapuna.
  • Artist's Impression of the space:2 apartments at 3 Burns Avenue, Takapuna.

Rethinking the way we live

space:2 – 3 Burns Avenue, Takapuna – Now selling

As our regular readers will be well aware of, the Channel Magazine team are strong supporters of progress for our town centres. This comes from our belief that there is nothing more constant than change in our modern world, so we need to embrace it. There is no doubt that in terms of the way we live in Auckland things are changing. It’s called intensification. As long as our planning is good, and the quality of these new residential buildings is good, then this is a win-win for all. Importantly, this is good for our town centres as it is bringing more people to live in the area. Channel Magazine’s Aidan Bennett profiles a prime example of the quality new residential options that are coming to the North Shore. Being built at 3 Burns Avenue, Takapuna – by local company Legacy Property under their brand rethinking.space – this is a building of the future: forty-two luxurious brand new apartments, located just a stone’s throw from the centre of Takapuna.


The neat thing about this new high quality development in Takapuna is that it is being built by a local company that is taking a holistic view of the new way of living. This is the essence of their rethinking.space brand. The first paragraph on their website sums it up… “Greener homes and communities without compromising your lifestyle helps you to make a home buying decision that will benefit the planet and you”.

Backing up this commitment is that all the key people leading the business are living the way they are creating new living spaces.

Company founder Gary Gordon is leading this from the front. Gary lives with wife Ingrid and their three school-age children in Takapuna. He was an early adopter of electric vehicle (EV) technology with a TeslaX and now has a Nissan Leaf which was used to teach his daughter to drive and is also the family's everyday vehicle. Gary is passionate about property and founded Legacy nearly 20 years ago. Legacy now employs 20-plus people, up from just five or six a couple of years ago. Gary has been the instigator of the rethinking.space concept.

Living by what he preaches means that Gary walks or scoots to work. As part of the team he uses shared EVs which they have at the office: branded Hyundai Ionics which are available to staff 24/7 for business and personal use.

Working with Gary is husband and wife team Claire and Mike Beazley. Claire is a director/shareholder and manages the operational/people parts of the business. Mike is GM of rethinking.space. They have two adult daughters, one working for Vodafone in Christchurch and the other studying law at Auckland. In February they moved from a four bedroom house in Campbells Bay to Alba, the apartments built by Legacy in Auburn Street that were completed earlier this year. Claire and Mike are in the process of selling their second vehicle which is no longer required due to now being able to walk to work and take advantage of all the other things Takapuna has to offer. They sold all their old furniture and purchased new for apartment living. Decluttering was cleansing and allowed Claire to question the value of things that don’t get used and just take up space.

Mitchell Jefferson is a director/shareholder of Legacy and manages the business development side of rethinking.space. This involves identifying and contracting new sites, building and apartment design and the accreditation to Homestar sustainability ratings. Mitchell lives in Takapuna with his wife and two pre-school boys. When he moved from Murrays Bay to Takapuna this year he also sold a vehicle and now walks to work and spends his weekends with the family enjoying all the benefits of their Takapuna lifestyle.

Chris Drum manages the construction part of the business for rethinking.space and is also a director/shareholder. He and his wife and three young boys live in Northcote Point and took on the challenge of reducing to a one vehicle family. This was a challenge with school and weekend sport etc. Chris either rides his bike or catches the bus to and from work. He also keeps fit with ocean swims during lunch breaks during the warmer months. When not working in the office he goes to and from sites and business meetings in the shared EVs.
Led by Gary Gordon, the Legacy team are building on their experience of building hundreds of apartments and homes to bring industry leading expertise and world class innovation to home design and construction. That’s what they call rethinking.space.

The boutique apartment developments they are creating embrace many of the ideas being advanced by the world’s leading urban visionaries. They explain this in four parts: shared space in their developments is designed to be a positive contribution to community engagement; electric cars, bikes and scooters are an integral part of the masterplan; locations are identified where you can take advantage of public transport and local amenities; apartment designs reflect their changing expectations of how we want to live – at any age.

"The rethinking.space concept was created to bring quality, affordable housing to the market, and we do things differently,” explains Gary Gordon. "Our apartments are built with a focus on affordability and sustainability with targeted Homestar ratings and unique innovations that ensure a healthier, more sustainable home. We aren’t afraid to ‘rethink’ the status-quo. Each apartment building is provided with a fleet of electric vehicles for use by residents and we build in areas that are transport centred, allowing residents to reduce their reliance on car ownership and live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. By thinking outside the box we are creating exciting apartment designs that deliver an outstanding lifestyle experience."

The first development being constructed under this rethinking.space way is in Panmure. Called space:1, this is 46 high-quality apartments across six levels. There are currently just 18 available to purchase. The space:1 development includes a shared BBQ and entertaining area, a fleet of electric vehicles and a targeted 7 Homestar rating.

The second development is this exciting new local apartment project in Burns Avenue in Takapuna. This is appropriately called space:2 and the build will start in October.

Forty-two high quality luxurious apartments are being built with one and two bedroom options. There are also sub-penthouse and penthouse levels.

All apartments feature open plan living flowing onto a private winter garden or deck. The fully equipped kitchens feature quality Fisher & Paykel appliances and granite benchtops with tiled splashbacks. There are sub-penthouse and penthouse apartments on the fifth and sixth floors. These feature expansive and generous deck spaces with triple aspect options offering views north and towards the city.

Mike Beazley explains that careful consideration has been given to glazing and interior layouts to provide fresh, open and airy apartments that are flooded with natural light.

"Apartments also have winter gardens or an outdoor deck where you can enjoy your morning coffee and take in the view. All apartments are targeted to achieve a 7 Homestar rating, which is your guarantee of a warmer, dryer, healthier and more energy efficient home."

"Imagine the money you will save and the convenience of having a fleet of shared electric cars on-site,” adds Gary Gordon. "Plus, we’re including charging facilities for electric bikes and scooters. We are allowing our residents to be free from the expense and hassle of owning a car, and providing the benefits of having access to a fleet of shared EVs on their door step. With carparks now costing an estimated $70,000-plus, not having them means we have been able to make the apartments more affordable.”

These cars are exclusively for residents to use and can easily be pre-booked and paid for online. Hiring an EV is affordable; it costs less per hour than hiring a Lime scooter.

The space:2 apartments are ‘freehold unit titles’, so a body corporate is necessary to manage the building maintenance and common areas, leaving you free to enjoy a quality of life that not all properties provide. The body corporate fees (estimated at around $3000 per annum) are an annual expense, are proportionate to the value of the apartment, and comparable to the cost of insurance and maintenance of an individual property.

So how do you buy an apartment? Being new builds, you’ll only require a 10% deposit to purchase any of the space:2 apartments.
If you are thinking of embracing this new way of living and have the desire to live close to all the fantastic amenities that Takapuna has on offer – beach, gyms, movies, shopping, bars and restaurants – then space:2 will definitely be for you. But get in smartly, because 42 apartments are going to go pretty quick!


Visit: www.rethinking.space