Public invited to share thoughts for future of Kiwi Property land in Drury

Friday, 15 March 2019

The 51 hectares of land for development in Drury, southern Auckland, is adjacent to the southern motorway, Great South Road and the main trunk railway line.

Kiwi Property is calling for the public to have its say on a future town centre in rural Drury, southern Auckland, after purchasing 51 hectares of land for development.

The company, who owns Sylvia Park shopping centre, is looking to create a town centre that will support the rapidly growing southern Drury community.

The company is New Zealand's largest property company on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and reported a half-year after tax profit of $48.3 million for the six months to September 30, 2018, up almost one per cent on the previous half-year's $47.9m.

Kiwi property development manager, Liz Davidson, said the company paid approximately $50 million for the land, acquired progressively through 2017 and 2018.

The land is adjacent to the southern motorway, Great South Road and the main trunk railway line.

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Kiwi Property will be sharing its initial planning ideas and inviting feedback at a community information drop in session at Drury Hall, 10 Tui Street, Drury from 3pm to 7pm on Wednesday, March 20.

Davidson said planning for the project was in its initial stages and the drop in session was a chance for the people of Drury to come along and meet the Kiwi Property team and share their thoughts on what was important to them in the future town centre.

The land is currently zoned 'future urban' under the Auckland Unitary Plan and the company plans to work with the council and infrastructure providers to get the area zoned for a town centre, with commercial and retail uses alongside high, medium and low density housing.

'The site is seen as a strategic long term holding for Kiwi Property that reinforces our commitment to be a part of Auckland's future growth,' Davidson said.

She said Auckland Council was currently working on the structure plan for the area.

In the feedback on the draft structure plan, 87 per cent of respondents indicated that the Kiwi Property location was their preferred location for a town centre.

Feedback on the draft structure plan also showed that 89 per cent of respondents thought good public transport was vital for a successful town centre.

Davidson said she supported this 'wholeheartedly.'

'We know that town centres supported by quality public transport have the ability to attract better retailers and commercial tenants, which is great for the community's long-term economic stability, and also provides quality transport options for commutable communities.'

She said bringing a train station close to a town centre on the Kiwi Property land was a key aspect of the company's plans.

'We will continue to work with Auckland Council and other key parties, as well as the local community, to help ensure the right decisions are made in regards to public transport infrastructure.'

At the end of 2018, Hunua MP Andrew Bayly asked transport minister Phil Twyford for an update on the area's rail electrification progress.

The work is to include three new southern Auckland stations – at Drury, Paerata Rise and Paerata itself.

'Twyford said initial design work was now being done and will form part of a business case for implementation funding. The business case is expected to be completed by mid-2019 and detailed design work will then follow. So it will be some time before work will start. We might be lucky if we have something in five years.'

Bayly said with no alternative transport options available, major housing developments such as Auranga (Drury) and Paerata Rise would have significant impact on the already heavily congested Southern Motorway.