New city road a key moment for Hamilton’s Peacocke development

Thursday, 26 March 2026

Work underway on the new Broadwater Retirement Village being led by Qestral Corporation, one of the first new developments in the Peacocke area.

A $600-million project to turn greenfield land into housing for New Zealand’s fastest-growing city is about to hit a major milestone.

The Peacocke development is Hamilton City Council’s (HCC) largest-ever infrastructure project, designed to transform 720 hectares of semi-rural land in the city's south into a new urban community for up to 20,000 residents, providing 8000 new homes.

The council is now starting on the final piece of key infrastructure, funded through the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund loan, HCC sustainable communities unit director Charlotte Catmur told the Waikato Times.

It’s Whatukooruru Drive, a new arterial road that will connect Peacockes Road in the east with Ōhaupō Road and State Highway 3 in the west.

“As part of this project, essential underground infrastructure is also being installed, including water and wastewater pipes, as well as electricity and internet services.

“This infrastructure is critical to enabling future homes and neighbourhoods across Peacocke.

Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge is one piece of ‘strategic infrastructure’ that a government package helped unlock.

“We’re aiming to open Whatukooruru Drive by mid-2026.’’

The overall project was unlocked in 2016, through a $290 million government package, comprising a $110.1m NZTA subsidy and a $180 million interest-free HIF loan, to be repaid through development contributions (90%) and general rates (10%).

That package was strictly to fund “strategic infrastructure’’ including pipes and the landmark $160m Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge, which now spans a 200-metre crossing over the Waikato River, providing the road link between the CBD and the new southern suburbs.

Bevan Houlbrooke, Director at CKL, a professional land development consultancy involved in two major projects under construction in Peacocke says “momentum is building’’.

Plenty of earthworks are underway at Peacocke in March 2026.

Housing development is underway in parts of Peacocke (file photo).

“Peacocke is beginning to take shape, and that is now being reflected in the scale of activity underway on the ground.

“One of those is the Broadwater Retirement Village, located near the new Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge. It is a significant master-planned retirement development that will ultimately include 223 houses, along with an aged care centre, dementia care facility, and a range of recreation amenities. The project is being delivered in stages, with earthworks having been underway since November last year.

“CKL is also involved in the Aurora subdivision, where house building is well advanced in the early stages and earthworks are continuing across future stages.

“Together, these projects reflect the scale and quality of development now coming through in Peacocke.

City council staff showing off stage 3 development of Whatukooruru Dr at Peacocke in May 2025.

“It is particularly positive to see projects of this size progressing given the level of public investment that has gone into unlocking the wider Peacocke growth area.

“While development uptake across the broader growth cell has been slower than many expected, largely because of softer economic conditions, these projects show real confidence in Peacocke and in Hamilton’s long-term growth.

“Peacocke is well positioned for Hamilton’s future growth. It offers strong long-term connectivity, is close to employment activity already underway and planned around the airport, and helps bring balance to the city after most growth in recent decades has been concentrated in the north.”

Back in 2019 the projections were for 3750 homes in 10 years with a goal of more than 8000 within 30 years.

Projections were for another 2000 homes by 2034, the council said in 2025, depending on market conditions and developer decisions, while up to 7400 extra homes are envisaged over 40 years.

A council spokesperson said the Peacocke Programme was “tracking under budget’’ with the council finalising a close-out report that will detail all the costs in the next week or two.

The project is considered vital to help cope with population expansion, after Hamilton’s population grew by 1.4% last year, to 192,000.

Its growth is significantly higher than the national average of 0.7%. In comparison, Auckland and Christchurch grew by 1.0%.

For three years running Hamilton has outstripped all other major centres in terms of population growth.