$1 billion South Auckland development back on track

Wednesday, 18 December 2024

Turbulent times put core parts of Charles Ma's $1 billion plus Auranga development in South Auckland on hold, but this month work on the town centre was officially reactivated.

Ma and his company MADE Group have been working on the ambitious housing development in Drury West, 40km south of the central city, for more than 11 years.

Auranga will eventually have 3000 homes on an 83ha block. A retirement village for 120 residents, about 500 homes and a primary school have already been built.

But progress on other features slowed over recent years, and the block of land intended for the town centre stands empty.

A tough economic climate and Ma’s loss of a legal battle with KiwiRail over the location of a train station disillusioned him, and late last year he put the town centre land back on the market.

Now the situation has changed again and Ma is recommitted to the project and its goal of “rethinking urban living” - although he admits there is a long road ahead to completion.

Ma said land development for a further 1500 sections was under way, and work had started on the next 27 townhouses, with 23 due to be completed by late next year.

But his focus was going to be on the town centre, Sharewater Ngakoroa, he said.

“We have built a lot of houses now, but we have to give the people who live in them a decent level of service. We need to create a place which offers amenity, culture and community so that we can fully activate a lively community and great lifestyle here.”

He confirmed another funding source for the town centre earlier this year, and the project was now fully funded, he said.

All up the town centre will cost between $400 million to $500m, with the land making up $100m of the cost. The plan is that it will eventually include a supermarket, food and beverage outlets, shops, a healthcare centre, and maybe a hotel.

Ma did not want to announce any commercial enterprises until the negotiations were officially completed, but said progress had been made.

“Two major anchor businesses have signed up. I can’t name them at this point, but one is a large medical centre, and the other is a gym and swimming pool operator.

“We are also in discussion with a big supermarket operator, and we are quite far down the track. But nothing has been signed as yet.”

Resource consents for the town centre were going through the council process and a recent discussion with council indicated that process was on track to be completed by early March next year.

Once the consents were in place, earthworks would begin, and there should be a lot of construction on site in the months after that, he said.

“On completion of the town centre, we will have spent close to $1b in value on Auranga, and there is more development to come on top of that.

“But it is not simply about building cities and laying infrastructure, it is about inspiring and unifying communities, creating places of belonging.”

Auranga aimed to be one of a growing number of people-friendly co-housing developments globally that encouraged human connection and community, and sustainability, Ma said.

The development of 27 three storey, three-bedroom townhouses adjacent to the town centre, known as Little Sharewater, would be an example of that.

They would face inwards onto a green co-living space, and would be supported by a three-storey indoor common area that included a café, library and function room.

As part of the broader development, there was already a floating pontoon, a 400m gravel running track and exercise equipment overlooking the water, a children’s playground, and a central hub for events.

The nearby Ngā motu o Hingaia sanctuary was also being returned to public access through the extension of Auranga’s coastal walkway, and there were several parks within walking distance.

Ma said prices for the new townhouses started at $739,000 because he wanted them to be affordable for first home buyers, and the medium density format allowed that.

Land development for the town centre was expected to be completed by late 2026, and the first shops should open in 2027, he said.

“We’ve had a few hiccups with Auranga, but we are back on track, and committed to the project.”

Auranga is just one part of the huge redevelopment of the Drury area, which also includes projects such as Drury South Crossing, a 361ha masterplanned residential and commercial precinct.

About 60,000 people, which is the equivalent of a city the size of Nelson, are expected to move to the area over the next 20 years.