We have a housing shortage, Council could show some leadership on its own land

Calling Developers and Citizens: Show us what you could do!

We have all heard the Auckland Housing “Crisis” and the push and shove to open up more land for housing. What might be more useful and something (although botched entirely) the Government is doing is utilising its land better for housing within urban Auckland.

What Auckland Council should be showing leadership and utilising its land better to spearhead housing supply. Council I believe is the second biggest land holder in Auckland with the Government being first. Meaning Council has significant leverage itself to help spearhead that housing supply situation.

To be fair Council is selling off surplus land to the private sector and from there the private sector won’t sit and land bank. However, when Council owns a large tract of land within one of our biggest Metropolitan Centres then maybe Council should pull finger a bit more.

The Metropolitan Centre I am referring to is Manukau City Centre. Below is the land Council owns and is prime for development potential:

All the black highlighted land Council does own (as well as the green highlighted site). The total land yield for all the black highlighted sites is some 8.12 hectares.

However, some notes to consider with the above sites:

1. The green highlighted site I have marked to propose an open park. Any parking would be buried below ground ideally.
2. Some of the Council owned land I have not highlighted due to:
   1. Land in use by something else since the photo was taken
   2. Land to be developed by Auckland Transport for their use (Manukau Transport Interchange being the example)
3. The land that is used as parking for the Scentre (Westfield) mall is owned by Council with the parking leased back to Scentre.

In regards to the parking owned by Council and is leased back to Scentre I am inclined to give Scentre first right of offer in any development providing it ‘complies’ with the rules of the Metropolitan Centre Zone or even the Super Metropolitan Centre Zone if I can get it inserted into both the Auckland and Unitary Plans.

Anyhow the point being is that our Auckland Council via Auckland Council Property Limited (ACPL) (soon to be Development Auckland) is sitting on 8.12 hectares land. Land in a Metropolitan Centre Zone (so 18 storeys high (or even higher if the amendments in the Unitary Plan Hearings get through)) that allows for some good quality high density stuff to occur.

Remembering:

• Core sub regional, regional and even inter-regional (northern Waikato) hub
• A (smaller) City Centre to 570,000 of Southern Auckland as of 2014 with forecasts to take it to 900,000 by 2042
• Core hub that becomes the central focal point of the second prime project of The Auckland Plan, The Southern Initiative
• 15 minutes to the airport and surrounded by regional and inter-regional road and rail links
• Hub to near by heavy industrial complexes
• Sense of Identity placed upon it in comparison to the main City Centre

Source: https://voakl.net/2015/06/15/city-transformational-project-fallen-off-the-rails-auckland2016/

But also remember in regards to Manukau:

• Planners being underwhelming insofar as placing restrictive bounds to the Metropolitan Centre Zones (of which Manukau is under) on the premise of no appetite over the next 30 years to develop and intensify Manukau per the high level strategies of the Auckland Plan (THE AUCKLAND PLAN AND THE SYDNEY PLAN #2)

To Developers: What Would You Do?

And yes I include Scentre if they were keen in developing the parking land surrounding their mall.

So I suppose the question to developers and the citizens is given that all 8.12ha of land is Metropolitan Centre zoned and you have the above geography outlay what would you do?

Thoughts with Council acting as a rather large land banker!

Metropolitan Centre Zone Objectives per the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (subject to change)

PART 2 – REGIONAL AND DISTRICT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES»Chapter D: Zone objectives and policies»3 Business zones»3.3 Metropolitan Centre zone

Objectives

Super Metropolitan Centre Zone Objectives if inserted into the Auckland and Unitary Plans

Objectives

1. To serve as complementary to the main City Centre Zone in servicing core parts of the region (Manukau serving Southern Auckland and arguably the northern Waikato, and Albany in time serving the North Shore, Rodney and Northland), as well as reflecting the linear Geography from Auckland.[1]*
2. The Super Metropolitan Centre is an attractive place to live, work and visit with a 24-hour vibrant and vital business, entertainment and retail areas.
3. Development in the Super Metropolitan Centres is managed to accommodate growth and the second greatest level intensity of development in Auckland (the City Centre Zone being the first) and New Zealand while respecting its surrounding physical geography features such as hills, volcanoes, streams, lakes and harbours
4. A hub of an integrated regional (and inter-regional)*[2] transport system is located within the Super Metropolitan Centre and the Super Metropolitan Centre is accessible by a range of transport modes.
5. Key retail streets are the focal point of pedestrian activity, with identified general commercial streets supporting this role. Malls continue to act as centre anchor points but are retrofitted to incorporate functionality with the surrounding Super Metropolitan Centre rather than operating in their isolation away from the wider surroundings of the Super Metropolitan Centre as they are now

For Manukau Super Metropolitan Centre: Support for the social policy initiatives and approach reflected in the broader Manukau Community and the opportunities the Manukau City Centre derives to support these policies

[1] See Golden Triangle Note on page: 43

[2] See Golden Triangle Note on page: 43

Source: https://www.scribd.com/doc/207846633/Unitary-Plan-Submission-PDF-Mode