Eke Panuku land, outlined in yellow. A development partner is being sought for its revitalisation. Photo / Eke Panuku
Eke Panuku land, outlined in yellow. A development partner is being sought for its revitalisation. Photo / Eke Panuku
Auckland Council’s property arm is hunting for a buyer to do a sweeping urban redevelopment of Northcote town centre, bringing apartments above new retail, restaurant and commercial spaces.
The 3.13ha publicly owned site is now a large carpark surrounded by shops on land the council owns. Speculation is that aconsortium might buy it and experts said it could go for around $60 million.
Kate Cumberpatch, Eke Panuku priority location director, said the entity had bought 26 shop and office buildings in the town centres in the past five years to add to its existing holding so it could then sell it all for the regeneration.
In 2016, the council originally owned only the 600-space carpark and the land beneath the buildings, but not the buildings themselves. So it had to buy those buildings to enable the latest plan, she said.
Last year, the Herald reported how popular local Chinese restaurant Love A Duck was shutting after 24 years when it was compulsorily acquired by the council to allow the sweeping urban overhaul.
Love A Duck BBQ Cafe has become a local institution. Photo / Dean Purcell
The shop at 2 Kelham Ave was a local institution from when it opened in 1998, famed for its Peking duck, crispy pork, and hot chilli squid. But was forced to sell to the council to make way for the redevelopment now being marketed.
Eke Panuku wants a developer for its super lot, earmarked for a new large-scale residential-led town hub of 17,000sq m of retail gross floor area and 480 apartments, its information memorandum says.
The council-owned entity wants a mix of residential, retail, supermarket and commercial office uses to be built in place of the existing buildings and on carpark land in the area where Kāinga Ora has rebuilt much of the state housing stock.
Images show shops with blocks of apartments up to four levels high and a 27m height guidance was cited in documents.
Plans in the information memorandum show what Eke Panuku has in mind for Northcote's town centre. Photo / Eke Panuku
PwC is managing the sales process advertising it from today, seeking expressions of interest from development partners.
Eke Panuku said all the tenants knew the property was being sold.
Eke Panuku would deliver the upgrade and extension of Ernie Mays St and refurbish and extend the Northcote Library into a multi-purpose community hub, it said.
It would also demolish buildings so Ernie Mays St could be rebuilt. A developer who buys the land would then be responsible for delivering all other infrastructure, roading and laneways, services reticulation and public realm within the Lake Rd super lot, it said. Plans include a new town centre square with associated facilities.
This first step is due to be finished by the end of the year, then Eke Panuku said it would name the buyer and construction could start from 2027.
Development work was planned to be staged so the supermarket, library and some shops remained open while work was undertaken, Eke Panuku said.
The same council agency is selling the CBD Downtown Car Park which the Heraldreported this week looks set to proceed this month without a $28 million hub to park bikes and scooters, not removing the Hobson St flyover nor with a bus depot.
A paper to close the deal to sell the 1944-space carparking building to Precinct Properties was pulled from last month’s governing body meeting to get more information about the cost and benefits of the micro-mobility hub, removal of the flyover, and bus interchange.
Over at Northcote, expressions of interest to buy the council land are due by November 13.
The Woolworths supermarket between Lake Rd and College Rd made national news when shopper Lucy Knight shopped with her youngest children aged 2 and 3 and saw teenager Hendrix Hauwai trying to steal another woman’s handbag.
She didn’t stop to consider her own safety but intervened so Hauwai assaulted her and she suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed. A year later, a woman aged 88 was knocked to the ground and had her handbag stolen.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
