Sue: “Denis and I met after the earthquakes. We walked our dogs in the same park and kept on bumping into each other. Now we have a blended family with the dogs! It’s really nice to have the city back. It’s just fabulous to see so much green, especially on the sunny side. I like having the people around and just the general feeling of ‘busy’. For so long I’ve simply wanted to see people because it’s been so deserted.”

Denis: “I bought the section in 1980. There were 12 people tendering for the land, so I talked to my own people and made my own tender. The brick building originally here fell down in the earthquakes. Afterwards, I met Sue and we began to design this building with a Wellington architect. It now occupies 1.7m of council airspace, due to the overhang. We’re going to live in this top floor loft apartment because to call it a penthouse would be ‘seedy’. Before now, I’d never really considered living in the city before. I think it will be ok.”