Pukekohe Site Set for Landmark Housing Project

An expansive Pukekohe landholding for sale is poised for a landmark development to meet housing demand in one of Auckland’s fastest growing regional centres.

The approximately 4.48-hectare greenfield site on Victoria Street West sits beside new housing on the town’s western residential fringe. It is earmarked by city planners for urban development in an area experiencing very tight land supply amid massive growth and investment.

With an easy, flat contour and three extensive, highly visible road frontages – and with a new primary school within walking distance – the freehold land is considered ideal for a substantial housing project as part of a natural westward expansion of the town.

Future developers have a significant potential head start towards project planning with preliminary design completed for a subdivision enabling 160 terraced housing units (subject to council approvals).

New owners will also reap the immediate benefit of a combined holding income of $50,469 plus GST per annum, from rental of an existing home and extensive cropping land.

The property at 290 Victoria Street West, Pukekohe, is being offered to buyers by deadline private treaty closing on Wednesday 22 July (unless sold prior). It is being marketed by Mike Hook, Tony Chaudhary and Shane Snijder of Bayleys Real Estate.

Hook says the sale offers buyers a rare chance to secure development land at scale in a strategic location, backed by standout frontage.

“Sites of this size and configuration are becoming increasingly scarce as Pukekohe continues its rapid transition into a key residential hub within the wider southern Auckland growth corridor.

“Three road frontages provide exceptional profile, accessibility and flexibility, while the already completed project planning and subdivision design work could position new owners well along a pathway to development,” Hook says.

The landholding is zoned Future Urban under Auckland’s unitary plan. This is applied to greenfield land identified as suitable for urbanisation – subject to rezoning for urban purposes.

Chaudhary says the Victoria Street West site benefits from a highly desirable position on the urban fringe, bordered on two sides by quality new housing.

“The land is strategically located within an established and expanding residential catchment, bordered by the modern housing development suburb of Belmont and supported by the recently built Tamaoho Primary School. Pukekohe Train station is a few minutes away and the Southern Motorway is within around 15 minutes’ drive.

“The nature of the immediate surrounding environment – and the growth the wider area is seeing – enhances the end-value potential of a residential project here, and significantly reduces development risk,” says Chaudhary.

Pukekohe’s population has surged by a third, to around 29,000, since the 2013 census, making it the Auckland region’s third-largest urban area behind Auckland itself and Hibiscus Coast. The town is a vital service hub for surrounding rural areas and workers at the Glenbrook Steel Mill. It is also increasingly in demand as a dormitory town and commuter base for workers employed in central Auckland.

Snijder says ongoing growth is driving enormous local construction activity, with projects around Pukekohe encompassing the likes of Franklin Hospital, Bunnings Trade Centre, Pukekohe Toyota, and a new Franklin Day Surgery medical centre.

“Property owners and developers here are also well-placed to capitalise on a booming wider Franklin area – a key hub for Auckland’s southern growth where high demand meets a limited supply of commercial real estate.

“An expected influx of more than 40,000 homes and 38,000 jobs over 30 years will push Franklin’s scale and demand to new heights and is already driving heavyweight developments and huge infrastructure investment,” Snijder says.

Leading projects include the 360-hectare Drury South precinct focusing residential and industrial development beside the Southern Motorway; Kiwi Income Property Trust’s Drury town centre project; and Fisher & Paykel’s $275 million acquisition of 100-plus hectares for a new research and development campus.

Large-scale residential developments include the Paerata Rise lifestyle township, creating 4,500 homes between Karaka and Pukekohe, and the Auranga project which aims to deliver 2,650 dwellings west of Drury village.