Far North District Council has confirmed the demolition of the old Kaitāia Warehouse.
The long-vacant former Warehouse site in Kaitāia will finally be demolished, and its future may already be taking shape.
The Aupōuri Ngāti Kahu Te Rarawa Trust (ANT) has put forward a proposal to turn part of the land into a development featuring social housing, private apartments, community services and commercial space.
Details of the proposal and the Far North District Council’s decision are in a confidential document shared with the Northland Age.
The trust proposed a development, called Te Pā Harakeke, which would feature 36 social housing apartments, 24 private apartments, whānau services and retail space.
In the agenda item, the council resolution was to grant the trust the first right of refusal to purchase part of the Matthews Ave property, giving the trust six months to negotiate a sale.
Far North District Council group manager for delivery and operations, Ruben Garcia told the Northland Age the site’s long-term future was still being worked through, with “commercial proposals being considered”.
In the document, the council approved the first right of refusal, with negotiation conditions including:
In its proposal, the trust showed interest in purchasing about 4200sq m of the site, which includes the building and carparks, but not a triangular land portion to the south.
The trust said it was not able to comment when approached by the Northland Age.
The document further detailed that other options for the site, suggested to the council last year, included a Northland Basketball suggestion to turn it into a sports hub and a Far North Holdings submission to have a major supermarket chain purchase or lease the property.
The supermarket proposal was first raised in 2022 but stalled.
Far North Holdings chief executive Andrew Nock said the idea for a supermarket was a long term one on how more foot traffic could be attracted to the town centre.
They looked at whether a new retailer could attract people back into the town centre and commissioned designs and economic studies to test the idea. But with Covid and the economic downturn no firm retail demand came through and because of that they did not move ahead and kept it on hold until the right opportunity.
“We knew it wasn’t something that would happen overnight, but we thought it was worth considering. If we’d had firm retail demand, we would have pushed ahead, but in the current financial climate we couldn’t put something forward without certainty.”
“Until that time arises not much we can do.”
He said Council was best placed to decide on the site as they were closely connected to the community.
Garcia said the site’s long-term plans are still under review, with various commercial proposals under consideration.
“While these remain confidential for now, elected members are encouraged that a decision about the site’s future would have positive outcomes for the community.
“A critical consideration will also be the needs of existing community activities such as the Kaitāia Market.”
He added that in 2021 the council resolved to lease the property to Te Hiku Basketball and Recreation Centre Trust to enable it to build a sports and community hub.
“The lease required the trust to meet funding requirements. These were not met, and the lease came to an end in mid-2024. The council has since reconsidered options before finally deciding to demolish the building.”
He said the extent to which the public can influence the site’s future use will depend on how proposals progress.
“If proposals reach a stage where community input is needed, the council will provide opportunities for public feedback.”
The building has been empty for more than a decade.
Northland Basketball’s Dave Davies-Colley said they tried to get it used as a sports hub that would benefit many.
“There is a massive shortage of indoor sporting stadiums, because they are so expensive to build and we were on the lookout for a site in the Northern region and that one was perfect. It was centrally located.”
The council heard at its meeting on August 28 that costs would likely exceed $1 million to make the building suitable for a tenant, without any certainty that a future user would not demolish the building anyway.
By comparison, demolition is estimated to cost ratepayers less than $200,000.
A public community meeting, regarding the future of the site will be held at the Te Ahu theatre at 5.30pm on Thursday, October 9.
Asked if any council representatives would be attending, Garcia said it would not be appropriate for council staff to attend the upcoming meeting.
“The council acknowledges the community’s ongoing interest in the future of the site. However, staff are currently carrying out the resolution made by elected members to demolish the building.
“Preliminary activities and assessments are under way to ensure that demolition is undertaken safely and compliantly.”