Chances are as you have been heading to or from downtown Auckland you will have seen the heritage building at 91 College Hill.
It has been a feature on the rise up from Victoria Park since early in Auckland’s growth into the city it is today.
Walking tours stop and give it the eye, and it now stands as an example of sympathetic, but bold renovation, undertaken by respected financial management advisory firm, Rutherford Rede.
Rutherford Rede’s business founder, Jocelyn Weatherall, says she applied principles familiar to the world of finance to the refurbishment of the building when it was purchased in 2018: “respect and learn from the past, understand the present and prepare for the future”. As a result, the building is now set to serve generations to come.
“The building has a rich, interesting history, but when we purchased it to support our own growth as a company it was needing work to make the most of its potential; much TLC – tender loving care – was required, and given to the project,” says Jocelyn.
91 College Hill, now the Rutherford Rede Building, was built in 1885/86. It is understood that it was built for a woman who lived on the other side of the city in Rose Road, Parnell – making her an early property developer (and someone clever about diversifying their assets).
Bordering St Mary’s Bay, where along with Parnell some of Auckland’s grandest early homes were built, the building originally faced open paddocks before they were filled in with workers cottages linking through and up to Three Lamps and Ponsonby.
College Hill itself, too steep for horse drawn carriages, dropped down from the ridge of Ponsonby/Jervois Road to shipyards, sawmills and of course from 1905 to the city rubbish incinerator (known as ’The Destructor’), whose chimney remains a feature of Victoria Park village.
Clearly, much has changed; since that time, and through the hands of multiple owners, the building has served as a respite for veterans, a lawyer’s office and a boutique hotel. There was a dubious period in the 1980s when it was operated as a “health club”.
“When we took it over the interior had been painted an oppressive dark blue which, coupled with a dark carpet, led to a closed-in feeling whenever you entered the building; upstairs were multiple small rooms.”
Jocelyn, who has renovated a number of villas over the years, knew the value of opening up spaces, and keeping the interior as bright as possible utilising white tones, and bringing in natural light to give a sense of space and connectedness. The individual rooms were converted to open plan office areas while the entrance foyer was kept and furnished to serve as a comfortable area to welcome clients. Ground floor areas were renovated for luxe meeting spaces of various sizes for flexibility – including a grand board room.
Sustainability is another part of Jocelyn and Rutherford Rede’s ethos. With this as part of their values, natural features of the building were enhanced and beautiful native timbers were repurposed where possible.
“Places are important to people. They can give a sense of belonging and heritage buildings such as this can also represent the solidity and security that we embody as a business as well.
“I enjoy coming here for work, even when there is the option more and more for people to work from home. When you create an inviting space you play to that need for connectedness, for focus, and that in turn creates a positive culture,” adds Jocelyn.
The Rutherford Rede Building continues to link the communities of Three Lamps/Ponsonby and St Mary’s Bay with their past and their future.
As part of that, readers are invited to share any stories of the history of 91 College Hill with Rutherford Rede at mhornblow@rutherfordrede.co.nz.
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Published 6 August 2021