The Government says between 3000 and 4000 homes will be constructed at Mt Albert as part of its Kiwibuild scheme.
The project, announced on Sunday, was described as "the first major development under its ambitious KiwiBuild programme", involving the purchase of 29 hectares of land for thousands of houses in Auckland.
No financial figures were given by the Government for the transaction. The Government would only say it had purchased the land from Unitec at "market value"
The land at Unitec’s Mt Albert campus, 9 kilometres from Auckland’s CBD, will be transferred from Unitec to the Crown with the intention of building a community of between 3000-4000 homes. Unitec land fact sheet is here. Kiwibuild fact sheet is here.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford says it’s an opportunity to build a whole new community around Unitec, and help address Auckland’s housing crisis.
“Too many Aucklanders are suffering because of the housing crisis. This Government will not sit around while children are living in cars and families are cramped into overcrowded housing. We need bold action to solve this.
“There will be a mix of affordable KiwiBuild homes for first homebuyers, public housing and open market houses.
“This is a beautiful and historic piece of land with natural features such as the Oakley Stream running through it. It’s close to education, employment and public transport. This new community will have open spaces, new parks and shops.
“We want to create a place for people to put down roots and to live, work, learn and play, for generations to come.
“We’re looking forward to working with the Iwi of the Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau collective on this development, consistent with the agreements in their Treaty settlement,” Twfyord said.
Opposition housing and urban development spokesperson Judith Collins accused Twyford of "re-badging" earlier announced initiatives.
“The previous Government signed off on Unitec’s investment plans to consolidate their campus and develop the spare land for housing.
“The plan change has already been through Auckland Council. We know that because various local councillors were opposing the development.
“All that has happened here is that a land development that was owned by one part of Government is now owned by another arm of Government. A pure re-badging exercise.
“The development at Unitec has already been factored into the plans and predictions for housing development in Auckland.
“All that seems to have happened here is that Mr Twyford wants to use taxpayers’ money to subsidise the building and selling of homes that were going to happen anyway.
“If Mr Twyford wants to be known as someone that actually adds new housing stock rather than re-badging existing plans he needs to come up with something new. Not just re-hash something that’s already happening.”
The Unitec site at Mt Albert (Image: Wairaka Land Company)
Housing plan:
You can check how this project compares with the many other major Auckland projects planned and in progress, here.
176 Comments
This will be pack em stack em development, thousands of homes on a land area that would normally hold hundreds of homes. Still at least many fhb will get an opportunity to get a leg up. I must tell my own daughters to register their interest to buy a first home below market value.
Appears short sighted of Unitec to lose spare land around its campus
Expectations must be low for expansion in future decades
What about the land from Silverdale to Albany [ Dairy Flat etc ] serviced already by. “Motorway” ?
Has this been “Developed” yet ?
I wonder if anyone in govt has looked at apartment buildings for families in green areas that are common overseas ? Anyone living in a house would be pleased to move into 2000sqft of no maintenance air conditioned comfort with large entertaining outside deck.
The problem won’t be solved by chewing up large tracts of valuable urban land unless density levels are raised
To do this effectively you must not cut corners which has delivered not only leaking homes but leaking multi storey towers around Auckland
“If Mr Twyford wants to be known as someone that actually adds new housing stock rather than re-badging existing plans he needs to come up with something new. Not just re-hash something that’s already happening.”
lol ....PT caught claiming anything to take credit for ... its really sad!!
and the devil is in the detail .. the worse is that only 30-40% of these will be Kiwibuilt ( not 100% as we were led to believe)
his interview this morning was pathetic to say the least -
This man is only good at a picket line to hold placards and shout Labour at the top of his lungs and moan and groan about how awful National was !!
No substance at all ... naked emperor indeed
Ha-ha :) What a crack up! The not so smart are already telling their spawn to register interest even though the criteria has not even been announced!
Kiwibuild is intended for FHB as homes to live in not for Landlord cm speculators to rent out. As a condition of purchase, I hope there are strict rules with clawbacks that cover the intended use after purchase.
What’s your point? My children don’t have homes so are FHBers and Taxinda promised homes for all. Why not have them put their names down so they can buy them and live in them, especially if there is some tax payer paid discount on other homes? Of course if it’s a dog box, they can simply say no. I’m figuring the first ones will be nice as loss leaders.
I know that truth hurts , and disappointment in your Representatives hurts even more... but they can actually do something and get my praise - they can Stop Lying to NZers ... and stop cheating .. that would be a good start !!! then Stop shedding crocodile tears on people living in cars and homeless folks .... BS emotional blackmail ...
I really hope that the "Garbage" might stick one day and Opens some locked minds and eyes to what is actually going on around you .... and Who is actually wearing clothes or Not !!
Echo-bird :-), I can tell you're worried this Government is going to deliver. Just say so without being so cryptic next time. I am both confident and hopeful that more Aucklanders will be housed affordably and further diminish the pricing power of greedy Landlords. This Government will deliver and you deep down know it too. These are exciting developments so embrace this as exciting news so stop being so NEGATIVE!
In fact, Now I am very worried to miss out on the next round of property rise coming soon to my neighbourhood .... At this rate, this Gov will deliver a gift wrapped shoebox at exuberant prices .....
today's PT action and performance has changed my mind and took me out of my comfort zone .. it actually made me go out and look at two open homes close to my place ... yes, they are $1M+ properties.
I think that PT actions will push quality housing prices ( fee simple) higher in the next few years as the tide will raise all boats ..... comparing quality with shoe boxes will get buyer to appreciate the ownership of a piece of free hold dirt with a nice house on it ...
I reckon it is a very good time to buy quality now and I might have a serious look to adding more to my portfolio - Quality houses will look cheap in few years just like they were back at 2014 prices.
I shall leave the fear to your likes RP ... I think that you are even afraid to cross the road on your own....keep chasing ideals, and live in the shadow of your TD.... :)
Echo-bird, are you talking about the TD's that for six years returned me a total 22% after tax and I reinvested? The same TD's where no rates, interest, insurance, commissions, holes in the walls or other maintenance had to be paid? Oh, and did I mention my Kiwisaver? Yeah, given the dodgy global situation right now, I highly recommend it to others as peace of mind living - I am still earning no matter what. Please don't try the OBR line because I have covered this in discussions on other threads. So there you go, its not all about property and over the medium term you and others will discover precisely why.
To me, the world is one big theatre that I am watching developments with great interest. I get to read comments like yours that remind me that we are not far from a time of massive leverage driven reckoning...........
Hmmmm, its the quest for historic yields thats helped drive these lofty valuations (everywhere). Globally, risk is being repriced as we comment and Libor rates are rising - this sends a clear and distinct warning. Trade friction might well be the Black Swan, time will tell.
Admittedly, I am over conservative with what I worked hard for but I'd rather it this way than have the door slam shut with no exit strategy in place. It's all going to end rather badly in a run for the exits under the weight of leveraged investments that are tanking. We saw a taste of what's to come earlier this year. No quick recovery, no White Swan and central banks with no tools. I'm prepared for it. Others should consider some preparation, what's the harm in that? When mans involved, there are no guarantees future returns will match the past.
BTW, whats food inflation at the moment, what 0.1%pa? Can't eat a house.......
Regrettably being in cash doesn't insulate from black swan events. In 4/08 the rate for a 6M TD was 8.4%. Nine months later it was 3.8%. Pain came knocking on millions of retired people depending on TDs.
How about the swan delivers negative rates that force you to consume capital; assuming you have access to it. I appreciate you have an OBR defence strategy but you'll still take a haircut if the horseman of the apocalypse rides in. Inflation is beginning to stir, albeit mildly - your food link confirms. So maybe stock up on canned beans and lentils now, just in case.
I think in the next Black Swan event, thanks to a massive and prolonged deleveraging process, deflation is likely to become more the norm. Unlike capital gains, my more conservative gains (the greedy would argue are measly) are banked.
I took out another 5 year TD @ 4.27% in January of this year. My only home of 20 years has risen in value like others but that means little to me personally to be honest.
Houseworks :), you are indeed a piece of work! My teenage spawn are happily cohabitating within a loving family home, so they are not homeless like you suggest. Sometime in the future no doubt they will rent, buy homes for purpose that suits them. I will certainly be available to assist if asked, especially when it comes to dealing with rogue Landlords.
Anyway, it's unlikely to be at the forefront of their minds right now. That's of course unless you know otherwise - lol!
Feeling better?
.. agreed ... the market has risen so high it's reached the " too big to fail " plateau ... a full blown property correction now would pull the entire economy down into a deep recession ... and as much as we don't want that , we also don't want house prices being so incredibly out of reach for lower and middle income earners ...
It's intriguing that some here have been waiting for 6 years or more for the black swan to arrive and invested conservatively whilst properties have gone from strength to strength over that time. If those same investors had taken a different position and been more bullish then, they might well be a singing a different tune now. Instead of a funeral dirge at least something a little bit upbeat
Everyone on here is either right or left leaning me included, so the subject tends to get lost. We do know that the Unitec was in fact already in the pipeline so PT can't really claim it as his Kiwibuild. Good on Labour for trying I think everyone is ok with that but Labour could benefit more by being clear and honest about their achievements. National gets alot of flak for not doing enough in the past 9 years, but the facts are the previous 9 years under Labour the increases were more, equally the 9 years before that were the same so both National and Labour are equal on this score. High density housing is coming Aucklands way. As these developments happen and I hope not too rushed as this could easily lead to developments that the city regrets the existing quality suburbs certainly become more desirable and that will be reflected in their price more and more in the future. These new affordable developments will serve their purpose but will never alter the real estate market as they are quite different segments in the markets. I also not that the new Government has been very quiet on the Labour/NZF immigration targets they campaigned on, The recent immigration figures are falling but driven by previous National changes and an improving Aussy economy. Hopefully the new Government is listening to business and are changing their thoughts on this as our economy cannot afford drastic cuts in immigration, slow changes maybe. I am surprised with Simon Bridges he appears to be much better than I thought and has a more balanced view on issues it will be interesting to see how he develops. Jacinda seems to be doing a reasonable job although aging quickly but her team is yet to prove themselves although it is early days. I don't see team members like Davis/Peters/Jones helping win over voters.
Agreed Shoreman...and in fact the majority are in the centre with a slight left or right or green tinge,the more extremes are probably the most vocal.
Agreed the Unitec plan was not Labours baby from the beginning,but neither was it Nationals,it was privately driven by Unitec itself who were looking for some one (initially pvt sector) to come on board,the unitary plan was successfully changed to suit,but no consents as to what would actually be built,Labour has taken on the role to underwrite it by purchasing the land and in so doing,having a say in what was being built there.
As per your comments on the leaders...unnecessary to mention Ms Ardern 'ageing'...it happens to both sexes.
But I am hopeful that with new leaders from a younger generation on both sides we will see an improved approach to politics.Mr Bridges is obviously 'cleaning out' some of the deadwood & ghosts of the past,subtley so as not to scare the horses and without coming out and saying explicitly,that yes,there were issues with how the previous administration handled some issues.
Lets look forward to a better future for us all :-)
There are 10,000 sq metres in a Ha so 29 Ha is 290,000 sq m divided by 3000 is 96.6 sq m a property . Not sure if you can get anything livable in on 96 sq m asuming no requirement for roads as all residents will be free issued with jet packs. I suspect Twitfords legacy will be the minister who couldn't count the number of fingers on his feet and didn,t deliver his promises but he will be in good company with the rest of the COL.
About 40,000 immigrants are coming to Auckland (that is just over half of them prefer Auckland for long term residency). Pack 10 into each apartment and you have enough for this years immigrants. Of course if they want to start families or live with less than five to a bed then there is still a problem. If you want to house next years you will need to repeat.
Alternatively keep your word about reducing immigration to match other countries and concentrate on well paid immigrants who can afford to build their own houses.
And these immigrants are all included by the hand wringers in their 'reducing home ownership' lament. When it should be obvious that most newly arrived lower skilled people cannot contemplate home ownership for some time.
The ratio of renters to owners will inevitably 'deteriorate' when a tide of people with little capital is allowed in, yet we continue to be fed the nonsense that our society is going to hell in a handcart because so many '10 pound poms' pronounce themselves unable to purchase a house.
If we are going to embrace the huddled masses, at least drop the outdated fantasy that Mike Greer will be waiting at the airport with keys to a home for everyone.
I think the majority aren't trying to find cheap homes for immigrants,but the immigrants need to live somewhere,hence they rent....given NZ's tax policies on 'owning a rental', specuvestors have an advantage over owner occupiers when it comes to being able to afford to purchase...so gradually owner occupied houses are turned over to specuvestors and the locals who just want a roof over their heads get priced out of the market and the pool of owner occupied houses diminish if we don't build more.
It just becomes an ever increasing spiral,prices go up,les people can afford homes,so more rentals required,so prices go up....ad infinitum..
Call that hand wringing if you want to.
High Density Multi rise is exactly what is needed in Auckland. A large scale brownfield development like this is the best place for it. Without that we are looking at social unrest and logistical collapse. Urban sprawl is the only alternative and that has limits unless you want to repeat the collapse of the Roman Empire haha.
I read a report years ago that found that persons living in high density areas were actually fitter and healthier (all being equal) than those living in surburban areas. Suburbanites tend to drive every where but in high density areas with appropriate facilities they walked.
There are many aspects to Health and Fitness such as income, social norms, self identity, time to exercise and availability of facilities. They obviously didn't survey the 1071 postcode as the number of walkers is astounding and it's mostly suburban. Maybe someone living in an apartment block can tell us how full their gym is. My experience with hotels is that the gyms are often empty.
Funny to watch this all play out.
Moaning about not reaching 100,000 in the first month of the new Government, then they'll be moaning about the buildings, then there will be moaning about build quality, moan, moan, moan, moan, moan.
This Government might actually achieve something close to what it has set out to achieve - so I interpret 90% of the moaning as "oh sh*t they might actually increase housing supply and reduce house prices"
... my question is why has it come to this that the government has to step in to provide accommodation for citizens .... why has " the market " failed to deliver affordable housing for low and middle income earners ...
And who really thinks that $ 600 000 is " affordable " ...
... when will the government wake up to the need to discourage land-banking by introducing an annual land-tax , based on the unimproved value of all land in NZ ... ALL .... no exceptions , no exemptions ..
If there was a truly free market I am sure there would plenty of housing in all tiers of need. We keep repeating here that the cost of housing has been hijacked by local and central government and the restrictions and hoops that potential developments have to go through are what has caused the problems. The resource management act, the tree protection rules, zoning limits meant that developers would maximise the size of house thereby putting up the cost, development contributions, the infrastructure charges and the fifteen per cent gst adding tax on tax. The central government earns billions per year of gst on new housing. Don't blame the market, don't blame developers. Only now the council is starting to wake up.
Take a look at houses and homes up to the 1980s, there was a lot on units and smaller purposebuilt homes.
Nowadays on a below average new auckland home there is $100,000 gst and probably another $100,000 council and watercare charges. These charges didn't exist before 1986.
Seriously utter BS as usual coming from Twyford.
The Man is right as usual absolutely no detail whatsoever .
Affordable box’s for anyone that wants one and the people that want them will not be able to afford them as no deposit and bad credit so no loan from Banks.
29 hectares is ridiculous for 4000 homes and is impossible unless they are high rise apartments as there will not be any green spaces.
Of course I saw the plan, and it is fictional!
Who has drawn up the plan, and obviously it hasn’t been approved by anyone!
I It was a legitimate plan showing 4000 units they would be able to state what the plan was of, I.e. how many stand alone houses and their size.
How many apartments and the size and height etc.
They would also been able to have details of costing if it was legit.
It is just someone chucking a few squares onto a bit of paper and saying there you go.
If it was legit then they would be able to say that what was showing was 3000 or 4000 housing units.
It is clearly just another load of clap trap to try and say we are doing something towards the socalled housing crisis in Auckland.
RP if you beleive that the drawing is of 4000 housing units with that amount on space on 29 hectares then you believe in the tooth fairy!
There is no way that they can fit 4000 units on 29 hectares unless it is high rise apartments.
do you have teh RC or BC number ? so we can see fro ourselves if its 3000 or 4000 units - as surely if its approved the Minister could be expected to have that number ..... it will be in the Extract at the very front of the RC in the first 2 or three pages - not too much for the minister to read
At $600k it is hardly affordable. The cost of land means even the most modest of dwelling will not be affordable. Unless the government does something about that then it won't change. The consent process needs to be streamlined and building restrictions need to be reduced.
The voters will decide whether Labour are stepping up to the mark. Addressing "market failure" is all this is. There's no way National were going to do "this". LOL.
The National Party need to get with the program. And they will.
It's the carrot the private construction industry needs!
Hobsonville II, Hobsonville III, Hobsonville IV..... etc, should nail the supply problem, cost problem,....
It would be physically impossible,to put 400 to 500 terraced houses and stand alone houses plus apartments on 29 hectares of land.
29 hectares is 290,000square metres total.
Half of that would be roads, footpaths and parking spaces, and infrastructure and parks so prob only about 145,000 square metres to build on.
4000 units with single garage at 18m2 is another 72,000m2 so we are down to 73,000m2 to build 4000 houses or units.
So we are down to 20m2 to build each property and that is without your outdoor living space
There would be no way at all to be able to put any standalone single storey prefabs or whatever on 29 hectares to get 4000 houses or units on it.
If anyone believes this they are so gullible.
High rise apartments and many of them would be the only possibility and they would be pretty small.
Would appreciate it if some whizz kid who believes it is possible could give me their workings as it isn’t, end of storey
Doesn't your maths assume the garages cannot have homes above them? But if you are right and they do build up here is a relevant quote: "" 'Stacking people on shelves is a very efficient method of human isolation,' says Jan Gehl, a veteran Danish architect and renowned urban design consultant.""
I wonder if they will employ the public transport philosophy and build them without carparks/garages and have bike and scooter parks only. Like the new grey lynn or mt eden development without parks for most units. I think that would be right in line with socialist ideology
This building project will take 5 years to complete folks - PT did not have the guts to say that on TV or his announcement ---see the plan:
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/major-auckland-projects
So when asked when will it happen this morning he said 12 months ....
My goodness !!
The whole thing is show business to buy himself some time ...
The 5 years is what's in the plan , It might never happen if they don't find investors to do it... As ashley Church said this morning, 3/4 of rentals out there is private landlords which the Gov keeps pissing off with their big mouth policies ...how would you expect them to help??
this CoL is now used to throw anything out to numb the anxious public .... then work hard to either justify it or defend it ... their sales and marketing techniques are outdated and take most people for fools ... like any snake oil sales person who over promises and under delivers ... As time passes by , we shall see how far pents will drop after the hard truth is revealed and the fairy tale dreams are over when put on the spot by public opinion.
This project will be done in 5+ years, but it will be over priced ( they purchased the land at market value !!) and will take its time like all similar projects do ...Prefab or otherwise !
But come 2020, we will all find out that there were only 1000 units badged as Kiwibuild in this complex and 1000 units sold to HNZ and rented out to people in need on their waiting list ... Most of the remaining 1000 will be empty looking for someone who can flog $900K - $1M+ for a 3 bdrm townhouse and live next to the other established 2000!
The CoL will hope that by then they can brag about this and similar achievements and will seek a mandate for another term in power to apply CGT and Land taxes to build similar community projects.
If this is not the answer,what is...you can't keep importing people without building houses,the previous administration rode the immigration wave to make everyone feel rich through increased property values...but at some point,the music stops and there aren't enough chairs(read houses).
Now it is time to pay the piper,we are going to have to face massive developments of intensification to house these people,never mind affordability.They were voted in for 3 terms,based on short term gains/thinking....will our grandchildren be looking back at this time as when Auckland changed for the worse.
I repeat,what are some viable options,everyone is bagging everyone else,but I have yet to hear options tabled instead of he said,she said,it's the rights fault,its the lefts fault...a lot was greed on the part of everyone thinking who cares about the future,I will cash up and b*gger off out of AKL when its gone to hell in a hand cart...
edit
vman. People tediously bleating on about the Nat led, immigration driven, housing mess (while happily enjoying the economic growth upside) should reflect that Twyford unequivocally promised the electorate he has the solutions.
Recycling a previously conceived land development and offering nothing more concrete than vague hopes that pre fabricators will miraculously materialise, is distinctly underwhelming.
Good question. It doesn’t appear that anyone has the whole answer. National screwed the scrum on the Unitary Plan to force higher density in planning regs, it had the SHAs, wanted to join developers fighting against NIMBY protesters in Three Kings, and backed the densificaton of State owned land in Tamaki. It also bandied around compulsory acquisition of land. It evidently didn’t have the whole answer so we ended up with PT and the COL who have Kiwibuild. The debate here is what is going to change things? Prefabs? State backed development? Who knows, except it’s evident that anyone who has a failed business idea that can be pitched to PT as the answer is going to be heard by a man desperate to show he has the answer. Looking at him, do you really believe he’s the one to crack this egg? I don’t think so.
If you can’t afford a chocolate bar, then making the bar smaller until you can is not a game changer. I have yet to read an article where FHB have been interviewed to tell us what they want, how much they can afford to pay and then PT responding. Surely if this is not customer focused in an asset which last 50 plus years it’s a disaster waiting to happen?
The answer to your last sentence is straightforward use a Bank calculator to determine how much a borrower on average/median income can borrow add with a 10/20% deposit and you have the affordable house price.Using the BNZ calculator for a couple on 50,000 a year each and costs that use 60% of their net income borrowing of $252,000 over 25 years is calculated so assuming they have a $100,000 deposit affordable is $352,000.
You really need to find something better to do with your Sunday afternoons than whinging about the govt getting on an doing what it said it would. NZ is in big trouble because of what previous govts (here and overseas) did to inflate the asset prices. The got is trying to fix things.. and no doubt they will get a few thing wrong.. but at least they don't have their heads parked firmly up their backsides like the last lot. (And no, i didn't vote for any of the coalition parties)
Yeah right. Twyford came up with this. Check out the image. That was close to four years ago. https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2014/06/25/the-unitec-opportunity/
This PDF is quite interesting, from David Chaston's link in the comments above and shows some pictures of what the buildings may look like on a page titled, Diverse Housing Choice:
http://www.wairakalandcompany.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/E-1-Urban-D…
I'd have to say, after reading through this plan, I quite like it. This land is currently very under utilized and a new community developed around an invigorated Unitec sounds good. With the money they get from selling off the land they can really develop. Sounds like a win-win.
thank you for sharing this ..
OMG, So the whole thing was planned and there is no credit whatsoever for this lazy Lot to claim ... my goodness , how much lower can we go? ....
Yes indeed , the plan looks good ... until someone puts his dirty fingers in the wheel and mess it up. ... to claim that this will be the first Kiwi Build by PT is an insult to all NZers - shame !! .. he could've done himself a favour by saying that this project was planned 4 years ago - at least he would have earned some respect !...instead he was found to be a petty th*** ... Just bleeping about National for not doing anything and sounded today like he is the long awaited messiah who will make things happen ....Pathetic really !!
Let's see who will be brave enough to take the risk and develop this. and what will be the CoL's covenants. .. now that they announced this - then they own it and it is up to them to complete as planned ....
Who wouldn't be when you see such crap and so much lies and deception ?? ....especially after been given the benefit of the doubt ??
read the reports, the links above and the plan and listen to Q+A program and you might get the same feelings.... I pity the fools who believed what this lot said and promised last year ... We are just 6 months in the journey 30 more to go !!
you asked what is the answer, again read the reports above and you can see how this country is driven by stupid bureaucracy ....masters of putting spanners in any moving wheel! ...the answer is getting rid of those and let life move smoothly with common sense.
If we remove too many planning restrictions and let the market build what & where it likes we will end up with more of the 1980 style x-leases,mish mash of sh*t boxes built all over the place quickly and cheaply to make a quick buck.Unfortunately we imported too many portable labour units from overseas to keep the wheels turning,now we are paying the price of having no infrastructure to match,no major urban renewals,it has to be done on a large scale...don't get me wrong,I don't like a lot of it,I like my 1200 sqm 5 mins from the city and would like it to stay that way...but the immigration tap was opened too wide.
The crown with acces to large tracts of land with state housing will have to lead the way.
Next pick will be a complete new re-developemnt of the Owairaka state house area...hundreds of freestanding state houses on a huge area of land not far from unitec.
I hear you ... but this project is nothing like the 1980's mish mash you mentioned ...read it through, it is well studied in all aspects, and well planned for everyone to benefit from...
I am all for nice well thought of modern projects like this and want them to happen yesterday ... this will take us forward and will make Auckland No2 instead of No3 in the world ...
What did Dubai or KL look like 30 years ago? ... it takes a visionary person ( or group) to achieve the unimaginable ( with or without money) ... Not a bunch of noobs ...pulling porkies .!
immigration tap has provided the money this lot is spending left right and centre ... and they are enjoying scoring political points and buying future votes ... to the extent that no one is talking about reducing immigration anymore ...and watering down relative aspects of it too ... seems that everything is negotiable nowadays, including election promises.
Eco,read the articles below,the Wairaka Land Company is Unitecs offshoot that launched the plan and engaged designers to shop the idea around,the designs are concept and were trying to get interest from private developers to buy into it.Labour have come in and bought the land to essentially underwite the project and give some certainty to interested players.
Big players in the industry I have spoken to say they are actually looking forward to having a long term plan & commitment from the govt to allow them have long term plans as opposed to the boom / bust we have in the building industry now.It will be game changing eventually and something only a govt could push along.
http://www.mtalbertinc.co.nz/government-moves-unitec-land/
http://www.mtalbertinc.co.nz/kiwibuild-unitec/
Concept ??
According to David Chatson ..
"This plan is approved under the Auckland Unitary Plan, and has all its consents.
"http://www.wairakalandcompany.nz/archives/
Lol, picked the batton , stumped up the cash ??... you mean inherited the money made by National policies ? ... why then curse immigration ?....lol
See Fritzs comment below re consent.
Beter to spend the money that way than for ever increasing accomodation supplements to stoke the fires of the ponzi...
I think the last govt inherited a bit of cash from the previous Labour govt as well.
They also created the Cullen fund,quite a forward thinking crowd really.
And Winston Peters pushed for the referendum on compulsory supre in 1997...think how wealthy NZ would be know if that visionary policy had come in all those years ago.
What did the Nats do...stop payments into the scheme so they could borrow more to provide tax cuts...again...short term thinking..
On the news tonight it was explained that there are several cost issues in regards to this land being built on heavily and that is possibly why National hadn’t built on it.
Paid market rates for it, and yet Ardern,s transparency has gone out the window once again as she won’t announce how much the country has paid for it.
Hypocrites and incompetent
I’m sorry but why are we surprised? Put aside the petty politicing, if this is about a crisis then it seems reasonable to suggest that we, as Aucklanders and citizenry of NZ should be a little less concerned about political lines and rather more concerned about progressive steps to remedying, what is, irrespective of your beliefs, a situation that will be addressed sooner or later. Of course Labour will make the most of every opportunity it has and particularly on this low hanging fruit, as indeed it must, if it is to succeed in this space. Surely no one here is naive enough to think otherwise. Suggest we all just climb down off our soapboxes and at least give qualified approval and support to both the intent and, as it transpires, actual delivery. Having resided on these boards for at least a brief period I doubt there are actually any whose naysaying is so profoundly adhered to so as to rule out even the remotest possibility of oblique and mercurial contrivance.
Exactly, there is no way in hell that anyone could fit 4000 units or houses onto 29hectares.
Have had some experience with developments and I would put my last cent on it that it is impossible!
I reiterate that 29 hectares is 290,000m2.
You would need half that for roads, parks, infrastructure like swales etc, leaving 145,000m2 to build on
145,000 divided by 4000 units is 36.25m2 per unit.
Ok with 11metre height restrictions you could make them 3 storied so totalling 108m2 per terraced house and the garage would,have to be included on the ground floor.
There would be no outdoor living and also no outside decking available.
This would also mean that there could be no gap between any unit, they would all need to be joined together so there would be no windows either.
They would be back to back,and side to side so no light.
There would be no standalone prefab units either, just not enough land.
Clearly you should be able to see that it is totally impossible to do what this government have stated.
If you beleive them then you are in lala land.
You really would’ve thought that Twyford would have someone who,could advise him, if he isn’t bright enough to work this out.
Geez watch the retractions come in the future!!
As I see it Labour can see there is a housing problem and they want to do something about it. National did not even acknowledge there was a problem. We need to give Labour a chance , especially us boomers who had it easier than those looking to get into their first homes right now. If National was still in power nothing would be getting done about the housing problem. People at the bottom would have no hope at all.
I do feel for people that want to own their own home, and we personally love to see our tenants leave due to buying a home.
We encourage it as we always know we will always find another satisfactory tenant, as there will always be people who need a rental.
It is unfortunate that house prices In Auckland are what they are but many have just sat on the sidelines listening to other people when they should’ve bought.
Housing in NZ generally is still affordable if you are prepared to move out of Auckland.
If you aren’t prepared to leave Auckland then you may never own if you are currently renting.
The So called Baby Boomers were not lucky to be born when they were.
There are still a lot of Baby Boomers who,have never owned a home and still rent so it has nothing to do with when you were born.
If you are prepared to work and invest wisely and take the opportunities when available you will do ok as there are opportunities for every generation.
It's much harder today to buy than in the past.
Also in theory it sounds like a nice idea to buy outside Auckland. However there are only so many jobs to go around outside Auckland and other bigger cities.
I was reading Joseph Stiglitz tonight on land tax. We really need it (family home excluded)
Agree a land tax might be the way to go if increased taxes needed. But I have an issue with excluding the family home. Aucklanders like to store their wealth in family homes and they would benefit from the home exclusion more than home owners in the regions. Regional better off people tend to have a lower percentage of assets invested in their homes and invest in other real estate or businesses to get a return. They will bear the brunt of land taxes if homes are excluded. And it will further skew incentives to live and invest in homes in growth areas where the government should be encouraging people to move away from those areas.
Between Southland/Otago & Westland Trademe has 1386 jobs advertised in the cheapest housing areas of NZ, truth is immigrants prefer Auckland so pre arrival a little research will tell them accommodation is expensive and difficult to find so choose to live in Auckland put up with the cost and difficulty of accommodation. Move south get a job buy a house enjoy a better lifestyle cheaper living and climate generally, 24c in Christchurch today and a cloudless sky, over 1000 for rent in ChCh under $500 a week 155 in Otago under $400.
None of us can deny the fact that the numbers of people owning the property they live in has been falling for some time. Statistics are there for everyone to see. There are always going to be people who will never own their home and there are many reasons for this. I have a relation with long standing mental health issues who will never own a home as she has never had a job. As a caring society we provide her with everything she needs. In every generation there are always people who can only hold down poorly paid jobs. A lack of grey matter, mental health issues or a very poor upbringing is often the cause. However today people face ten times incomes loans to buy houses in Auckland and not far behind in other parts of New Zealand. As a boomer I never faced anything more than three times income loans. That is a major difference between now and then. Why should people have to leave Auckland to get a home? It is where many of them were born and they have a right to stay there where their families, friends, work and recreational activities are. It is a fantastic city full of jobs and business opportunities. Those who criticize it always fail to explain why so many people live there compared with other cities in New Zealand. As you all know I do not live there but I really enjoy visiting it. If it was 34 years ago and I was starting out in my profession I would be shifting there. It has great weather, ,nice beaches, a beautiful harbor that offers great sailing and fishing , a huge variety of things to do outside work hours and it is our gateway to the world. Why do so many of our immigrants want to live there? One obvious reason is because many of them are used to hot climates and we all know that the further south you go in New Zealand the worse the weather gets. So many knock Auckland for its traffic but try living in LA, London or a major Asian city. Rather than knock Auckland we need to find solutions that allow more people the opportunity to get on the property ladder there. Labour did little in its nine years in power. National did nothing as Key was out of touch living in Parnell. Now that Labour is giving it a go why don't we give them a chance to do just that. Just one house being built will be more than National ever did as they were stupid enough and arrogant enough to say there was not a problem. Mike Hosking came out this morning and said that in ten years time the proposed project will look like a ghetto. That is rich coming from someone who has such a privileged lifestyle. If you want to see a real ghetto get over to South Africa which I visited last year and you will see a lot of them. Tin sheds and thousands of them in one spot with no running water or sanitation. For the record I voted National at the last election. Like Steve Smith the Australian cricket captain I wish I could reverse my actions.
I agree gordon. Something anything would be good to get the homeless off our streets and our garages. More importantly, an equal opportunity for the hardworking FHB's to own their own homes and start a family. Auckland will be a better place because of this urban development.
Goodness me guys. Have a heart for once. Anything is good to address homelessness and overcrowded housing. I can see many FHB's finally have the opportunity to own their own homes. It is good news. We need to celebrate this announcement. It is a small win but a win nonetheless!
All the wailing and moaning here made me think of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWJEtNgU45g
Dave Allen, perhaps the funniest guy to ever walk the planet
This may not be everyones cup of tea,just as Hobsonville Point isn't,but if it is developed properlywith a plan to make it a community with quality builds,I am sure it wiil be an asset.
As I said,it will be similar to Hobsonville....and guess who was in power when that was first setup...and then guess who tries to take credit for it now it is nearly finished:
"The company was established in 2006 to develop the former Hobsonville Air Force base into a new township. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Housing New Zealand Corporation."
And while we are looking at forward thinking,see below Mr Joyces original views on the Waterview tunnel in 2009 when they first took over...thankfully they didn't get their way with a surface motorway...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2403435/Billion-dollar-Aucklan…
Lets not muck around,how about reclaiming Hobson Bay & the Orakei basin by filling it in.
Their is a train line running through the middle for PT,plus we can revive the eastern corridor motorway to run alongside...a nice flat piece of land to build dozens of apartment blocks Hong Kong style,great views,close to town and most importantly the right postcodes...they will buy them by the dozen from the asian countries...
The plan attached for the Unitech site was produced in... June 2014, a bit rich for Grant Robertson to take credit for it, isn't it?
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2014/06/25/the-unitec-opportunity/
Yvil,
Agreed the Unitec plan was not Labours baby from the beginning,but neither was it Nationals,it was privately driven by Unitec itself who were looking for some one (initially pvt sector) to come on board,the unitary plan was successfully changed to suit,but no consents as to what would actually be built,Labour has taken on the role to underwrite it by purchasing the land and in so doing,having a say in what was being built there.The final outcome will be more dense and not just targeted at the premium end of the market as that 'concept plan' shows
Too be honest Yvil,I am not too sure what has been released by GR...from what I can see,they say they have purchased the land to develop,thats all.No design yet?
All the concept plans are being put up by commentators,but they are the original plans Unitec offshoot Wairaki were shopping around for someone to take it up.
JimmyH, you can not build 4 levels at all as there is a height restriction of 11metres so 3 levels at most.
There would be no standalone prefabs at all as not enough land.
No,outside living areas either.
This is a load of clap trap if they tgink you can get anywhere near 4000 units!
If you think that this is a goer for the no.s being talked about you are delusional.
Where are the actual no.s that is correct no. Of units and size and what they are!
The plan that has been shown would appear to be at most a third of 4000.
The traffic would be horrendous and impossible to manage when you would have at least 4000 cars heading to work thru small streets early in the morning!
Sorry folks, it is not going to be a goer unless someone can give us further details.
Lady on the Duncan Garner show reckoned it would be 15 years in the making, I say it won’t even happen with those figures,
I also read something that said that Ardern also says there is going to be retail, playgrounds and a school included.
Where the hell is that going on the 29hectares?
Delusional!!!
TM2,from what I can see,parts are zoned Terrace housing and apartment buildings zoneas defined below:
"This is a high-intensity zone enabling a greater intensity of development. This zone provides for urban residential living in the form of terrace housing and apartments of between five to seven storeys.
The zone is predominantly located around metropolitan, town and local centres and the public transport network to support the highest levels of intensification.
TMaths (challenged)2
Thanks for showing the obvious.Tilt slab construction to 11 m over basement inground parking and 150 mm concrete floor plates eill give 4 levels of 2400 clear height each.
About being delusional..well you have been outed so many times we just have a chuckle noe when you rave yet again.
JimmyH, I am telling you now that this development will not get off the ground if they think they are going to get 4000 units on this 29hectares!
They say 30 % are going to be Kiwibuild so the rest are going to the open market!
The open market is not going to be buying this crap as they so t want to live in slums ville and families won’t be wanting an apartment within a ghetto!
Let’s just wait and see the BS unfold and the retraction occur as there will be no architect that can design anything to house 4000units of any liveable size with garages, parking, roads, parks etc.
It is impossible, and the infrastructure and traffic problems will make it so problematical that there will be no building on it for years.
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