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Auckland Council Puts Big Block of Land up for Sale
Auckland Council Puts Big Block of Land up for Sale
A large block of land in St Johns, Auckland is up for sale offering an opportunity to build a significant number of quality dwellings on the 2.7662 hectare site.
Located at 20 Donnelly St, the vacant site had previously been leased by Auckland Council to Remuera Golf Club. It is in an area where there is strong demand for residential housing as evidenced by the success of the massive adjacent Stonefields subdivision, says Gerald Rundle, manager corporate projects for Bayleys Real Estate which has been appointed sole agents for the sale of the property.
Mr Rundle says the site is being offered to the market by the city’s urban regeneration agency, Panuku Development Auckland, part of whose mandate includes continually reviewing Auckland Council’s property portfolio to find smart ways to generate income for the region, or releasing land or property to enable better use by others, for example for the development of much needed housing for the city’s rapidly growing population.
The property is for sale by tender, closing 4pm, Wednesday, June 6. Gerald Rundle is marketing the property in conjunction with senior broker Dave Stanley and Bayleys’ managing director Mike Bayley.
“This represents an exceptional opportunity to secure a very large block of land in an established high value residential area which is considered one of Auckland’s most desirable places to live,” says Mr Rundle. “There is a scarcity of large, central greenfield development sites like this with established infrastructure in place to cater for development.”
The property comprises an elongated strip of vacant, grassed land which extends in a northerly direction from Norman Lesser Drive on the western side of Donnelly Street. It is approximately 525 metres long and 60 metres wide. There is a moderate contour of approximately 15 metres from north to south, with the elevated nature of the site meaning it benefits from sweeping views, says Rundle.
“The land has a Residential – Mixed Housing Suburban zoning which is the most widespread residential zone under the new Auckland Unitary Plan covering many established suburbs and some greenfields areas,” says Mr Rundle.
“The zone enables intensification and medium density housing, while retaining a suburban built character. Development within the zone will generally be two-storey detached and attached housing in a variety of types and sizes to provide housing diversity. However, in certain situations consent may be sought for a higher density development.
“With the substantial land area on offer, the purchaser can bring their own vison on how best to develop this exceptional site and unlock its potential.”
Panuku Director of Development Allan Young says the successful purchaser will be required to build to at least a 6 Homestar standard. Homestar is a residential rating tool developed by the New Zealand Green Building Council to ensure a high standard of energy efficiency, health and performance in new homes. Panuku requires a minimum 6 Homestar standard on all land it sells or develops for new homes.
“We have worked with the New Zealand Green Building Council to customise Homestar for our development partners and will collaborate with the purchaser of the property to make this a smooth process,” Young says.
Dave Stanley says a development concept plan for subdivision has been prepared to demonstrate the potential density achievable on the site should it be subdivided in accordance with the provisions of the Mixed Housing Suburban zone.
“The plan illustrates a possible housing layout, taking into consideration site constraints, and demonstrates that around 100 residential dwellings could potentially be developed. However, interested parties would need to undertake their own due diligence on what is achievable in terms of what they have in mind.
“The property could also possibly suit a retirement village, subject to obtaining the necessary resource consent. There has been some interest in this option as well as strong interest from residential developers because of the location and the scale of development permitted by the size of the site.”
Stanley says the location offers proximity to transport links, eastern bay beaches, the CBD and a wide range of shopping, sports and public amenities. The property is close to the Panmure transport hub, the Glen Innes train station and the southern motorway.
Nearby recreation amenities include the Remuera Golf Club, the Scarbro Tennis Centre Auckland Netball’s new,expanded facility at Mertens Rd, , the Extreme Edge Indoor Rockclimbing Centre and Swimtastic, both in Morrin Rd, the Maungarei/Mt Wellington Domain and the Waiatarua Reserve and wetlands.
Bayleys Real Estate
New Zealand
Bayleys is New Zealand's largest full-service real estate company. We offer expertise in the marketing and sale of a wide range of property, including residential real estate, farms and lifestyle blocks, and commercial and industrial property. This includes tourism and business sales such as hotels and motels. We also cover the real estate markets in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.
Bayleys also provides a complete property and facilities service including property management and valuations teams focused on achieving both Owner and Tenant satisfaction.
No other real estate company can match our breadth of coverage across all market sectors throughout New Zealand.
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