Mana Ahuriri Trust is set to become one of Hawke's Bay's biggest developers, once its Treaty of Waitangi claim is settled. Made with funding from NZ On Air.
Napier is set to receive up to 350 new homes thanks to the Ahuriri Hapū Claims Settlement Bill, expected to be made into law by Parliament this year.
The new homes will be in Greenmeadows, but the Wharerangi Rd site is just one of many developments to benefit the seven hapū of Treaty of Waitangi post-settlement governance entity, Mana Ahuriri Trust.
It will become one of the region's major landowners and developers.
The trust's settlement was signed in 2016 and commercial redress included $19.5 million and the right to purchase Crown land.
The first development would be on former railway land in Napier's Munroe St, where Mana Ahuriri trustee Barry Wilson said Briscoes and Rebel Sports would be moving.
He said Prebensen Dr had several properties that would be developed, with New World, Mainfreight and Bunnings showing interest.
On top of Napier Hill, which under settlement cultural redress will revert to its previous name of Mataruahou, there are two building sites.
They look down on the biggest parcel of land the trust will gain, which surrounds Hawke's Bay Airport.
"There is a Landcorp Farm of 1330 hectares and on Onehunga Rd there is a site that backs onto Bay View which will be set aside for housing."
Mana Ahuriri trustee Barry Wilson is also a director of Mana Ahuriri Holdings, a company about to become one of the region's biggest developers once the trust's Treaty of Waitangi claim is settled. Photo / Patrick O'Sullivan
Wilson said the trust would likely pick up the Crown's 50 per cent share of Hawke's Bay Airport, which itself is developing a business park.
A property acquired under cultural redress, part of the former pā site Pakake in Ahuriri, would be developed.
The property developments will be through Mana Ahuriri Holdings Limited, a joint venture between the trust and a company owned by developer Warren Ladbrook. Wilson and Ladbrook are directors.
Ladbrook said there was a clear need for large-scale development.
"Napier in particular is very land-constrained for residential housing and industrial land - a number of operators need to expand."
He said while the trust would receive a cash settlement, development funding would be "third party as per normal development structures".
He declined to identify the total value of planned developments but Greenmeadows alone would be "significant".
"Wharerangi Rd for example is a residential opportunity for between 250 and 350 homes.
"Your average home costs $200,000 to $400,000 to build and these days even more.
"That's not to say that we'll do all of it, but we will be creating that opportunity for others - for families, for trust members, for the general public of Hawke's Bay."
He said local contractors were ready for the upcoming developments and would be expected to upskill local workers.
It was planned that the Greenmeadows project would break ground in 2022.
Mana Ahuriri's Treaty claim has not gone smoothly, with a tangled web of mandate and accountability issues.
The Waitangi Tribunal recommended the Settlement Bill not be passed in Parliament until there was a new election for Mana Ahuriri Trustees.
