Wilshire Group Takes Over Springpark Development

Wilshire Group Takes Over Remainder of Springpark Development

Auckland residential property developer Wilshire Group announced today it had bought the remainder of the Springpark development in Mt Wellington.

It confirmed that its offer to Springpark receiver Grant Thornton was accepted last week and had gone unconditional. The company is now in the process of refining the design for the entire development.

“We will continue with most of the previous plan but look to make improvements to enhance some parts of the urban design,” says Mark Peldmanis, Wilshire’s general manager.

“Wilshire is excited to have successfully picked up the remainder of this project and we look forward to restarting the development and being able to offer quality housing to a wide range of Aucklanders.”

The development will be a mix of terraced and town houses and possibly some low-rise three level apartments in the future. Dwellings will range in size from 99sq m with two bedrooms to 145sq m with four or five bedrooms.

“We will be restarting civil construction work in about three months once we settle on the land. The building of the houses will get underway a couple of months after that. It will be a four year project and ultimately the site will accommodate 450 to 500 new houses,” says Peldmanis.

Wilshire is talking to a range of contractors and is currently focused on getting the project restarted rather than trying to pre-sell any of the houses. Architects Jasmax have already been engaged to develop the master plan for Stage 2.

Wilshire had already bought Stage 2 and 3 of the development from the previous developer in August 2015. In December, Stage 1 went into receivership and today’s announcement now sees the entire development under Wilshire’s ownership. The purchase price is confidential.

Prices for the new houses have yet to be determined but they will be somewhat higher than those promoted by the previous developer.

“They will still be reasonably priced, quality homes interspersed with open spaces but, given the rising cost of construction and housing in New Zealand, the previous offer prices are simply not viable,” says Peldmanis.

“Having said that, we want to make sure they are within reach of the many New Zealanders keen to buy their own home so the prices will be realistic and accessible.”

A number of people who pre-bought properties for the initial scheme have told Wilshire they still want to proceed and the company has offered them a discount on whatever the final price will be. Other purchasers in Stage 2 and 3 chose to have their deposit returned and that has already been done.

Wilshire is actively seeking more residential development opportunities across Auckland and Peldmanis says its aim is to deliver at least 300 new homes a year.

ENDS

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