The purchase initially came as a surprise to Henry, who says Foreman came home from a spa appointment and told him she was making the $10 million purchase.
“I had been having a facial when my beauty therapist, who knows me well, asked if I had seen that the station was on the market,” Foreman tells Society Insider.
The station, on the corner of Remuera and Middleton Rds, dates to 1909 and expanded into the large red brick station in 1938.
The former Newmarket Police Station’s sergeant’s house is now a four-bedroom, three-bathroom luxury stay.
The police moved their operation to a more modern set-up on Teed St in 2021 and the old station went up for sale in 2023. Along with the brick building, the property includes an 1880s-built sergeant’s house and the original cell block.
Foreman, 65, says the couple who originally bought the property spent three years renovating it into a boutique hotel.
“In reality, I had no idea it wasn’t still a police station; I was a little intrigued,” she says.
Foreman says the day after her spa appointment, she walked past and stopped to admire the brass front door.
“Almost immediately, I got chatting to a couple who agreed the renovation looked incredible. After more pleasantries, they revealed they were the vendors and offered me a tour.”
Foreman says, like everyone she has subsequently shown it to, she was blown away.
“It’s had the most successful repurposing renovation I have ever seen,” she says.
The police station’s cells have been transformed and are part of the new luxury hotel.
Foreman is experienced in property renovations. For decades, she has worked with real estate expert and interior designer James Doole on dozens of luxury property do-ups at high-end addresses, locally in Remuera, Herne Bay and Omaha, and overseas in Australia and England.
Foreman says the four-bedroom, three-bathroom sergeant’s house has been fully renovated, and the original cell block has been converted into a one-bedroom, beautifully appointed apartment, complete with a full kitchen and a luxury bathroom. And in the red brick building, there are now 17 light-filled ensuite bedrooms.
The repurposed cells at the former Newmarket Police Station.
“I decided to buy it within five minutes,” says Foreman. “I returned home and told Paul that it had been a very expensive facial.”
Foreman has owned The Emerald Inn on Takapuna Beach for nearly 30 years, so she says “the idea of adding another hotel to my portfolio wasn’t daunting”.
Her four-star beachfront hotel has 39 rooms and villas, ranging from standard poolside studios to one and two-bedroom suites, and the Cape Cod-style Emerald Cottage.
The police station hotel was almost complete when Foreman purchased it, but she says she and Doole have added some of their own artwork and special touches.
A Karl Maughan painting hangs in the dining area at the sergeant’s house.
“We have given the sergeant’s house a luxury lodge feel and added small tweaks to the main hotel and cells.”
Foreman and Henry will host the grand opening of The Newmarket Central Boutique Hotel on August 1.
“As well as its wonderful style and location, there is also its history, which holds a very special place in the hearts of many a police officer.”
Diane Foreman has given the sergeant’s house a luxury lodge feel.
Foreman thinks the hotel’s stylish decor and proximity to the train station and shopping make it a desirable destination.
“I believe being on the ‘medical mile’ and almost opposite the new Alevia medical building, plus within a short distance of almost all the private hospitals, will make the hotel a perfect place for either step-down care or visiting relatives and friends.”
As an opening special, the main hotel rooms are $199 per night, the cells $330, and the sergeant’s house $530.
One of 17 ensuite bedrooms in the red brick building at the former Newmarket Police Station.
Foreman is known to be hands-on with her businesses, but she has appointed hospitality specialist James Botting as manager of Newmarket Central. He’s also the manager of The Emerald Inn.
As well as today’s surprise political move and resignation from the TVNZ board, Henry, 65, has also been doing renovations this year. He has been restoring Salt River Barn on his 3DAMS farm in Kaipara, Northland, into luxury accommodation.
Paul Henry has been restoring Salt River Barn on his 3DAMS farm in Kaipara. Photo / @Thehenryspirit
In May, former Prime Minister Sir John Key accompanied Henry to the farm in Key’s Airbus H130 helicopter, so the broadcaster could show him the renovation, which he hopes to finish next year.
Paul Henry recently showed Sir John Key his Salt River Barn renovations. Photo / @Thehenryspirit
Foreman and Henry have moved out of the home where they got married in 2020, a six-bedroom Georgian mansion at 33 Arney Cres, Remuera, to downsize.
Foreman says the home was on the market for offers over $18m, but she couldn’t find the right buyer, so they are renting it out for now.
“Paul and I have just moved into our new refurbished home, embarrassingly close to the home we have moved out of in Remuera,” she says.
Paul Henry and Diane Foreman on holiday in Hawaii recently.
August will be a busy month for Foreman – as well as the hotel opening, her son Josh, a health and physical education teacher, and his wife, Kirsty, are expecting their first baby.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.