A bird's eye view of the Beachcroft Residences to be built by Onehunga Bay Reserve in late 2017. Photo/Bayleys Real Estate
A bird's eye view of the Beachcroft Residences to be built by Onehunga Bay Reserve in late 2017. Photo/Bayleys Real Estate
A number of affordable one-bedroom units will begin cropping up along Onehunga Bay Reserve in late 2017 as part of a new housing development.
The nine apartments, priced between $595,000 and $620,000, would comprise part of the total 88 units that will make up the six-storey Beachcroft Residences complex to be built in the Auckland suburb.
Bayleys Real Estate One Tree Hill manager Glenn Baker said this was one of few residences offering a number of homes in the "affordable" end of the market.
The remainder of the one-, two- and three-bedroom properties were priced between $695,000 and $1.3 million.
"It has taken longer than expected for the flow of affordable housing units to come onto the market, but that is to be expected when you factor in the acquisition of suitable land, the drafting up of building plans, costing out the development, applying for council consent, then bringing the visualised concepts to market."
The plans for the apartment block between Beachcroft Avenue and George Terrace were developed within a Special Housing Area (SHA).
The designation of the SHAs was intended to help speed up the growth in the city's housing supply and enabled the fast-tracking of consents. As part of the SHA conditions most large developments were expected to offer at least 10 per cent affordable housing.
According to the Auckland Council website, these areas were established as an interim measure while Unitary Plan was being developed. A number of the SHAs were disestablished in September 2016, and the last were expected to be disestablished next month.
Artist's impression of the Beachcroft Residences. Photo/Bayleys Real Estate
Bruce and Anne Clegg, who own the site, have been overseeing the block development, construction of which is expected to start in the latter half of the year, with an estimated completion date set down for mid-2019.
Glenn Baker said the residence which was to be built around a central courtyard was a key part of transforming the Onehunga waterfront from an industrial precinct to a residential area.
Designed for "social community living" it would also include a barbecue facility, landscaping and gym facilities were included as part of the body corporate.
Apartments could also be built to be fully wheelchair accessible.
"With the ever-increasing intensification of Auckland city, particularly in desirable affordable locations such as the Onehunga waterfront, the adjoining premises along Beachcroft Avenue will follow suit.
"That's not an 'if' but simply a 'when'."
Other big developments in the Auckland suburb included the Fabric of Onehunga, which promised 239 new homes starting from $545,000 to be built in the block of land along Spring Street further inland.
The first of these were expected to be completed in 2019.
The Onehunga Bay Reserve and lagoon have been rejuvenated in the past couple years and now feature substantial coastal wetland areas, hectares of clear grassland, room for children to play and space for water recreational activities.
