Bringing the Monopoly board to life

Masterton’s thriving Kuripuni Shopping Village is testament to one man’s ambitious plans to bring a slice of city to town.

By Walt Dickson. Photos by Lucia Zanmonti

Most of us are familiar with the board game Monopoly, where the purpose is to buy up as much real-estate as your funds allow, all the while forcing your opponents into bankruptcy.

Were he to have time to play the family game, Masterton-based property developer David Borman would be a master at it, although a clear point of difference is that on his board everyone would still be in business.

David’s Monopoly-like approach to developing the Kuripuni Shopping Village in Masterton has created a board full of winners. The once scruffy southern out-post of the town’s shopping precinct, is now brimming with character and charm.

Kuripuni Shopping Village has become a destination, a benchmark set by Greytown 25-km south as it leveraged off its colonial past. David has done the same with Kuripuni, and while it may have initially lacked heritage buildings and all of the trimmings typical of the sort-after bygone era, you wouldn’t think so looking at it now.

“I’ve always believed that the colonial era is a real drawcard for people, they feel more relaxed and I think that is good for both retailers and their customers,”

Although a long-time property owner in Kuripuni himself, it wasn’t until David sold his building business (DR Borman) about ten years ago, and opened his office above a run-down shop, that his vision to transform the area took hold.

It started with the opportunity to purchase a group of shops across the road, which he immediately tidied up, adding a facade and weatherboard cladding. The tenants responded favourably, and so the die was cast. Negotiations with other property owners led to more acquisitions and the changing face of Kuripuni was gathering pace, led by David’s, ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’, attitude.

On the corner of Queen and Dixon Street - the gateway into Kuripuni – stood two shabby houses. David cleared the land to make way for a slice of Wellington colonial heritage – a 1920s building from Vivian Street and another from Oriental Parade.

He wasn’t put off by the not insignificant task of transporting the buildings, (both in two sections), over the Remutaka Hill having learnt from previous experience. The White Swan Hotel in Greytown, which famously had a very eventful passage over the winding hill in the early 2000s, was a project that he was involved in.

In a 2011 newspaper article, David is quoted as saying that his vision for Kuripuni Shopping Village was “to create a Ponsonby Road of Wairarapa that will entice city diners and shoppers to our town and provide metropolitan choices for residents and locals”. By 2015 it was mission accomplished, but he wasn’t finished.

Kuripuni has not only become a hub for boutique shopping and gourmet dining, for PowerShop it is also a place of work for its 120 employees. The fledgling electricity retailer was desperately looking for new premises, and David was quick to respond, buying several adjourning properties on the village fringe where he purpose-built a new call centre for the business, complete with colonial facade.

Then came his pìece de résistance – cinema and restaurant complex The Screening Room. Since opening in 2017 the business has been a stunning success with its two 60-seat boutique cinemas and popular eatery. The building showcases David’s respect for heritage buildings and attention to detail – the parquet flooring and timber panelling are repurposed from another of his Masterton projects.

“The parquet flooring came out of the Chilton Building that got laid by the Women’s Institute when the men were away at war in the early 40s. It was going to be covered over for a gym, so we lifted it, cleaned it all and relaid it in The Screening Room restaurant and bar.”

There are 66 wooden pieces per metre – a huge undertaking.

“Yes, it is very expensive, but I’ve always been of the belief that these sort of things have a story, which is important.”