Tonic for town centres

Up to 20,000 new houses to be built in housing projects across Auckland over the next 10 to 15 years will be the trigger for revitalisation of many of the city’s town centres, developers believe.

Jaine Lovell-Gadd, general manager of centre development for HLC (Homes, Land, Community), the company behind the projects, says town centres or suburban shopping strips will have a huge role to play in neighbourhoods as housing intensifies.

HLC is working on large-scale urban developments in a number of suburbs – Hobsonville, Mt Roskill, Mangere, Oranga and Tamaki among them – but it is their project at Northcote on the North Shore, where they plan to build more than 1500 homes over the next six years, which is providing evidence town centres may be set for a new lease of life.

With construction well under way (more than 50 homes have already been completed) separate plans for the renewal of the Northcote Town Centre have been unveiled. This is be overseen by council agency, Panuku Development Auckland, working closely with HLC; work is expected to start in 2021 and for the renewal to be phased in over the following 7-10 years.

This could be good news for the town centres dotted around urban Auckland. Many of these once-vibrant community focal points have been suffering for years as big-name brands occupy space in malls and parking frustrations drive potential shoppers away.

So, are we witnessing the rebirth of the town centre?

“I would say it’s more of a revitalisation,” says Lovell-Gadd. “As more people come into an area, town centres will be meeting the demands of the diversity of customers by providing a local shopping experience and a place for communities to connect more deeply.

“Our role is to encourage, inspire and talk to people so they know change is coming; we will listen and learn and join thedots to help ensure new neighbourhoods are supported by lively and vibrant town centres - places people can walk to or ride a bike to.”

In Northcote, town centre planners are basing the renewal on the wishes of local residents - better public space and the desire for a safe vibe at the same time as maintaining “great dining and cultural experiences”.

The HLC development in Northcote will be in three stages. Stage one includes the construction of new state homes (43 are complete and occupied) and one-bedroom units (16 of which are currently being built).

Stage two plans the replacement of around 80 older state houses with 500 new homes (the first were completed earlier this year). Of these, about 200 will be state houses and 300 will go to market. Stage three will start by replacing 63 older state houses with around 190 new homes.

In total the Northcote project will deliver around 470 new state houses and around 1030 new homes – a good proportion of which will be affordably priced.

As well as much needed homes, Northcote residents will see improved infrastructure, including a network of new and upgraded parks connected by the new Awataha Greenway (a network of public space following the path of the old Awataha Stream).

HLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Housing New Zealand (HNZ). Formed in 2006 to manage the development of Hobsonville Point, it was tasked in 2016 with helping HNZ provide more homes more quickly in growth areas, particularly Auckland.

Its other housing projects in Auckland include:

- Mt Roskill: Around 10,000 new homes and 2400 KiwiBuild homes are planned over 10-15 years. To be built on land currently occupied by around 3000 state houses, they will include a mix of housing types.

- Mangere: An estimated 2500 HNZ houses will be replaced by up to 10,000 new homes, again over a 10-15 year period.

- Hobsonville: Up to 4000 new homes to be complete by 2025.

- Oranga: Plans to build 600-800 new homes for sale and replace 335 state houses with 370 new properties.

- Tamaki: Up to 5000 new homes are planned along with 2500 new state houses.

HLC is also in the early stages of planning a new housing development in Porirua near Wellington where it is intending to replace 2000 state houses with up to 4000 new homes (a mix of state and private).

- Content supplied by the Urban Development Group