{"id":148525,"date":"2025-11-22T19:13:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/148525\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T19:13:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:13:05","slug":"why-he-swapped-tv-soaps-for-affordable-housing-all-things-property-under-oneroof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/148525\/","title":{"rendered":"Why he swapped TV soaps for affordable housing, All things property, under OneRoof"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Ido Drent has launched an 87-unit apartment development in Mount Albert aimed at first-home buyers.<\/p>\n

– His company, Elaman, has completed over 100 homes, including projects for K\u0101inga Ora.<\/p>\n

– Drent emphasises quality, affordable housing and was inspired by developers like Mark Todd and Shane Brealey.<\/p>\n

Former Shortland Street star Ido Drent has swapped scripts for scaffolding, launching an 87-unit apartment development<\/a> in Auckland\u2019s Mount Albert aimed at first-home buyers.<\/p>\n

Drent, who trained in property management and valuation at Massey University before embarking on a career in acting, has built up a solid portfolio of work with his company Elaman.<\/p>\n

The firm has completed multiple development projects for K\u0101inga Ora, including social housing schemes in Glenfield, Glen Eden and Birkenhead. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a far cry from the drama of Shortland Street, where he played the shady Daniel Potts between 2009 and 2012 (later roles include a doctor in the Australian comedy drama Offspring and INXS drummer Jon Farriss in the miniseries Never Tear Us Apart).<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Ido Drent in an explosive scene in his Shortland Street heyday. Photo \/ TVNZ<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Drent and some of his Elaman team members at their Parnell office in Auckland. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started acting, in the background I was always engaged with property in some way,\u201d Drent told OneRoof, highlighting that his first business was renovating commercial properties. <\/p>\n

He said he and wife Mandy realised in 2018 that \u201cacting just wasn\u2019t serving us anymore in the way that we wanted it to. We realised we were climbing the wrong ladder\u201d.<\/p>\n

Property was an obvious choice. Early projects, including homes for women who were rebuilding their lives after prison, showed Drent how good housing could transform lives.<\/p>\n

Discover more:<\/p>\n

– Outrageous Fortune star lists her blue villa – and reveals why she didn’t buy out West<\/a><\/p>\n

– Flipping unbelievable: ‘Basic’ villa sells for nearly $6m after high-end revamp<\/a><\/p>\n

– For sale: Grand Designs house that ended in romance, not tears and heartache<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, there was a lot of media around people living in motels and the back of cars,\u201d he said. This led to Elaman building social housing developments for K\u0101inga Ora.<\/p>\n

Finance for the initial projects came from rich-listers Liz and Paul Blackwell, said Drent. \u201cThey took a massive chance on me and helped fund our first project.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, he wasn\u2019t just putting his cap out for money. He lined up a builder on a fixed-price contract, secured the designs and found a buyer in K\u0101inga Ora. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor us to go to [the financiers] and say, \u2018Hey, we need X amount of dollars to do these five things I\u2019ve already organised and already secured\u2019, is very different to me saying, \u2018Hey, Diana, can I please borrow $2m? I think I can go do a property development\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The Olympus apartments are aimed at first-home buyers, with prices starting at just over $500,000. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

All the units are Homestar 6 accredited and built from solid concrete and brick. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Elaman\u2019s first K\u0101inga Ora project, the Agincourt, in Auckland\u2019s Glenfield, involved 10 two-bedroom terraces. That was followed by Glenview, in Glen Eden, a social housing project with 24 apartments that was short-listed for the 2025 Te Kahui Whaihanga NZ Institute of Architects Auckland Architecture Awards in the multi-unit housing category.<\/p>\n

So far, the company has built more than 100 homes. \u201cWe just recently finished 15 [units] in Birkenhead for K\u0101inga Ora, which are really beautiful,\u201d Drent said. <\/p>\n

His latest project, the Olympus in \u014cwairaka, comprises one, two and three-bedroom units priced from $539,000 to $899,000. Around 25% of the apartments are sold, with move-in expected in January. Two of the four blocks overlook Murray Halberg Park, and all the units are Homestar 6 accredited and built from solid concrete and brick. <\/p>\n

Like many developers, Elaman has had to deal with a changing political landscape. K\u0101inga Ora has gutted its development pipeline, cancelling hundreds of projects and refocusing purely on landlord operations.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Drent with his wife Mandy: “Acting just wasn\u2019t serving us anymore in the way that we wanted it to. We realised we were climbing the wrong ladder.\u201d Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

He said the dismantling of KiwiBuild had had an impact on the Olympus development. \u201cWe secured the underwrite, and then KiwiBuild wrapped up,\u201d Drent said. That meant the apartments could be sold at any price. \u201cWe worked really hard to try and still keep those prices that we initially agreed to with KiwiBuild. It\u2019s a really cost-effective price point for people to get into houses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winding up of KiwiBuild could restrict the ability to build similar projects in the future, with Drent arguing that Te T\u016b\u0101papa Kura K\u0101inga, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s current Residential Development Underwrite programme, was seemingly not as all-encompassing as KiwiBuild.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t tried to get one, but from what I\u2019ve heard, they haven\u2019t done many underwrites, and it\u2019s extremely hard. They\u2019re extremely risk-averse, which I completely understand with a new government coming in and trying to carve a new path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think this is a time in the market when an underwrite is extremely effective at promoting activity. KiwiBuild was a well-established programme with a good track record of delivering a lot of units.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drent said he was inspired by developers who showed integrity, including Ockham\u2019s Mark Todd and Simplicity Living\u2019s Shane Brealey. \u201cShane approached me about three years ago. He guided us to help secure a KiwiBuild underwrite on [Olympus].\u201d<\/p>\n

Brealey also introduced Drent to Simplicity\u2019s concrete building systems. \u201cHe opened up the stack cell construction methodology for us. I think we were the first company outside of Simplicity to use their construction methodology, which is their concrete formwork system. We\u2019ve adopted many lessons from them, and been a massive benefactor of their generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd, who is known for his visionary, design\u2011led approach to urban regeneration, was another hero. \u201cThere\u2019ll only ever be one Mark Todd, but we certainly do hope to stand shoulder to shoulder with those guys and other developers we respect in delivering vertical quality in Auckland,\u201d Drent said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is for me, apartments are part of Auckland\u2019s future, and having lived over in Melbourne and in LA, apartment living is something that we will have to get used to, or see the benefits of.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we also need to deliver a quality, accessible alternative so that people are enticed by that style of living. You can\u2019t just go, \u2018Here\u2019s a little box that\u2019s got no amenities and it\u2019s not a great location, but we just expect you to adjust\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Ockham\u2019s done so well is provide lovely amenities in great areas. Equally, that\u2019s what we want to do. We just bought a site in Morningside where we\u2019re currently consenting roughly 120 units.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Apartments in the Olympus, on Olympus Street, Mount Albert, Auckland, are for sale<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"– Ido Drent has launched an 87-unit apartment development in Mount Albert aimed at first-home buyers. – His…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,1258,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-148525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-latest-news","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}