Ockham’s Toi is the foundation block of a new Auckland suburb

Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Ockham Residential’s latest apartment building, Toi, is the foundation stone of the new Auckland suburb rising on the grounds of the old Carrington Hospital, the developer says.

Toi, a 65 apartment block, will be the first building of four in stage one of a new suburb called Maungārongo that will run from near Pt Chevalier village down Carrington Road towards Mt Albert.

It’s been a long time coming, with the groundwork for the suburb beginning back in 2018.

In March of that year, then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced 29.3 hectares of land would be transferred from Unitec to the Crown and three iwi groups for the development of up to 4000 new homes.

Since then an additional 7.6 ha of land has been purchased to expand the scope of the development, and seven mega lots have been put through various fast-track consent processes for subdivision.

One of the three iwi involved is Marutūāhu, and it is their 10ha parcel of land that will become Maungārongo. Ockham is the iwi’s partner in the development of Maungārongo.

Ockham Residential sales team leader Lisa Redgrove says it will be a staged, mixed use development over 10 to 15 years, and will result in over 3000 homes across 40 buildings.

“Over time it will become home to 6000 to 8000 people. It’s a village within a city — an urban kāinga of self-sufficient communities which animates Auckland’s ambition to be a compact and connected city.”

To date, two stages of the broader development have been granted consent, and the first stage will be made up of four buildings with 266 homes and six retail spaces. Toi is the first of those buildings.

The seven storey block will contain apartments ranging from studios through to one, two and three bedroom options. It will also have a residents lounge.

It is being built to high-quality specifications, and Ockham is targeting a 6 Homestar rating as part of the company’s commitment to sustainable development.

But Redgrove says the building, which will have custom green brick walls inspired by the harakeke (flax), is unmistakably of Aotearoa.

The name, Toi, means art or knowledge in te reo rangatira, and subtle shifts of glaze and a shimmering fine grain pattern will adorn the walls, she says.

“It’s a look inspired by the triangular tukutuku panels of Hotunui, the great Ngāti Maru wharenui that lives at Auckland Museum.

“It is a building which is the foundation stone of a community which honours both our cultural heritage and our vision for Auckland’s future.”

Construction on Toi is going well, with the building’s structure complete, the roof on, and interior fit-out progressing well, she says.

“Balustrade and balcony finishes are underway, the lifts are going in very soon, and in the next couple of months all apartments will be GIB lined and the brickwork completed.”

The building is expected to be completed in the last quarter of this year, and Redgrove says sales have been steady, with about a third of the apartments now sold.

That means there are still some beautiful apartments on offer, she says.

Studios are selling from $535,000, one-bedrooms from $700,000, one bedroom with flexi-space from $760,000, two bedrooms from $900,000, and three bedrooms from $885,000.

Toi’s location is an attractive one, she says. It is 400m from Pt Chev village, and close to the Mt Albert shops, several train stations and the Northwestern bike path. Pt Chev beach, Western Springs and Te Auaunga / Oakley Creek park are nearby.

“This is a wonderful place to live, and we think it’s a more thoughtful way of living — connected, community-centred and much less carbon-intensive. Life’s too short to languish in urban sprawl miles away.”

Redgove says the Maungārongo masterplan hints at what else is to come. It includes a metro supermarket, a medical centre, a gym and swimming pool, restaurants, commercial spaces, playgrounds, and community gardens.

The second stage of the development, which has been consented, will be made up of 381 apartments over four blocks, the metro supermarket, and some other commercial and retail spaces.

In the meantime, stage one continues with Toi’s nine storey sister building next door also under construction, Redgrove says.

“The apartment’s roof is due to go on in May, and the second building will connect to Toi through a shared bicycle garage, further emphasising our focus on sustainable urban living.”

When Toi is completed, it will be the 20th apartment development Ockham has delivered to Auckland, and its first since it opened The Greenhouse in Ponsonby early last year.

The softer housing market saw the developer downsize its operations, and put its planned Grey Lynn apartment block, The Feynman, on hold.

But Redgrove says it is due to complete work on its build-to-rent block, Kōanga, in Waterview next month, and construction on Station M, a 14 apartment building in Meadowbank, is scheduled to start this quarter.