March 30, 2020

NZ Urban Development News - 12 March

*|MC:SUBJECT|*

Hi *|FNAME|*, Please find below Urban Development News from the media from the week of 12 March 2019.

Provided by Rockhopper

Auckland’s commercial construction drives growth

Building work on non-residential buildings, especially in Auckland, drove the overall construction volume growth in the December 2018 quarter, Stats NZ said today.

Nationally, the total volume of building activity increased a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent in the latest quarter – when compared with the September 2018 quarter. This was driven by more non-residential construction (including work on shopping malls and storage buildings), which was up 5.0 percent. This was the biggest quarterly increase in almost three years (since the March 2016 quarter).

https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/aucklands-commercial-construction-drives-growth

Tunnel running under Waitemata Harbour proposed

Once again the Government is considering a tunnel in the Waitemata Harbour.

For the past 60 years, the Auckland Harbour Bridge has been the main connection between the North Shore and Auckland's city centre.

NZ Transport Agency says traffic at the approaches to the bridge at morning and afternoon peak periods are at capacity with heavy vehicle use on the rise

http://www2.nzherald.co.nz/aucklander/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503378&objectid=12210646

Alexandra Park Village: buyers out in the cold for another year as construction delayed

Buyers of the troubled upmarket Alexandra Park Village development in Auckland will have to wait at least another year to move in under the time-line of a new builder.

All the 250 apartments were pre-sold in 2017 for a total of nearly $300 million. Many residents were due to move in last year.

But they have been asked to extend the termination date of their purchase agreements to allow more time to complete construction after developer, Auckland Trotting Club, fired construction firm Canam due to "ongoing performance issues."

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/111027177/alexandra-park-village-buyers-out-in-the-cold-for-another-year-as-construction-delayed

$247m sale, major leasing: Mansons secure year's top deal

New Zealand's largest private developers, the Auckland-based family-owned real estate specialist Mansons TCLM, has made the year's biggest real estate deal so far by leasing, then selling, a partly-built city office block for more $247 million.

Culum Manson said the business had sold 155 Fanshawe St, new commercial premises on the ex-Caltex service station near the Halsey St corner in the Wynyard Quarter opposite Victoria Park.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=12209838

Lease to test driverless cars in Christchurch's red zone

Driverless cars are a step closer to zipping around Christchurch's empty river red zone area.

The NZMobility Lab scheme aims to attract private companies to Christchurch to test autonomous vehicles (AV) and other transport technologies.

Land Information NZ Christchurch land and property group manager Jeremy Barr said LINZ (who manages the red zone on behalf of the Crown) and the NZTA had confirmed a final draft of the lease agreement and the contract was ready to be signed.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/110973720/linz-and-nzta-close-to-signing-lease-to-test-driverless-cars-in-christchurchs-red-zone