A long battle with bureaucracy and vagrants looks to be over finally for Richard Balcombe-Langridge as he nears completion of the rebuilt Pepperwood Mews apartment complex in West Auckland.
Built in 2004 and deemed to be leaky, the 32 derelict apartments were bought by Balcombe-Langridge for $2.28 million in 2014 with a view to converting them into private rentals. Consenting delays have reportedly cost him millions but, with 15 units completed and the others due by the end of the year, the 75-year-old says the new building will be “well worth the wait.”
Balcombe-Langridge is best known as the owner of Metropolitan Rentals which was founded by his late father in 1948. Jointly managed by his son Andrew, the firm operates out of a $6.3m yard on Dominion Rd, Mt Eden. Being in business is like farming says Balcombe-Langridge. “If you don’t topdress and water and nurture it, it won’t grow.”
The bulk of the family fortune is invested in a commercial and residential property portfolio that includes the $10.75m Tudor-style Surrey Hotel in Grey Lynn where guests are greeted by hotel cat G.M. who joined the team as a stray and now supervises day-to-day operations from sunny vantage points.
Also on the books is a $24m industrial warehouse in Otara jointly owned by investors associated with nominee director Nicsha Farac, and the $3m YMCA Waiwera Lodge, which is a 50/50 partnership with his son Andrew.
Known as a passionate car collector, Balcombe-Langridge has a private museum built like a French Chateau stable block on his Brookby property, which houses 25 Rolls Royces and six Bentleys that he is known to personally wash and polish.