March 30, 2020

NZ Urban Development news from the media | 17 December | New infrastructure funding tool to build housing developments faster

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Hi *|FNAME|*, Please find below Urban Development News from the media from the week of 17 December 2019.

Provided by Rockhopper

New infrastructure funding tool to build housing developments faster

A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said.

“This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt finance to get infrastructure built sooner than would otherwise be the case, accelerating the provision of housing without putting pressure on council balance sheets.

“Particularly in the high-growth areas of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Queenstown efforts to develop land for housing are stymied by a lack of supporting infrastructure. Developers have been crying out for such a tool."

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-infrastructure-funding-tool-build-housing-developments-faster

Base-isolated and Green star building to be developed for the BNZ HQ in Wellington

Bank of New Zealand is to have a new earthquake-resilient and "green" 12-storey building as headquarters for its 1500 hundred staff in Wellington.

It will replace the BNZ's former landmark headquarters, a fairly new building on Waterloo Quay and owned by Wellington port company, Centreport, which was badly damaged in the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and is now being deconstructed and demolished.

The new building will be constructed on the 1 Whitmore Street site where a Z Energy petrol station stands. Key resilience features are base-isolation and a diagrid structure, as well a Green Star design.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/118081134/baseisolated-and-green-star-building-to-be-developed-for-the-bnz-hq-in-wellington

Invercargill Central demolition consent approved

Demolition consent has been approved and the key figure behind Invercargill's multi-million city block development is looking forward to now seeing some action.

The Invercargill City Council confirmed on Thursday that demolition consent has been approved, pending a couple of minor administrative adjustments, which applicant, HWCP Management Ltd, was sorting.

Christchurch-based company Ceres NZ has been awarded the demolition contract and is set to start preparation work this week.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/118147465/here-comes-the-bulldozer-demolition-consent-approved

Property developers fined $123k for breaking overseas investment rules

A new $85 million Catholic cathedral will be built in the centre of a The owners of a Birkenhead property have been fined $123,000 for failing to get consent from the Overseas Investment Office.

The High Court at Auckland has ordered FFG Investments and Grand Sky to pay the penalty, and $10,000 in costs, following an investigation by the office, according to a statement just issued.

FFG and Grand Sky have the same shareholders, the office said. Companies Office records show they are Yijun Feng and Yuntao Cai, both of Windsor Park in Auckland, and Fi Wen of Shan Xi in China.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=12294192