Auckland inner-city population soars

By ANNE GIBSON

The central-city apartment-building frenzy will result in Auckland having 22,500 people living in its heart towards the end of next year - the equivalent population of a town bigger than Masterton.

But if all the work now being planned goes ahead, that number will grow to nearly 30,000 people living in the downtown area within a few years. That will give the inner city a population larger than Timaru's.

Ian Mitchell, of property consultants DTZ in Wellington, has released latest apartment figures showing that the stampede to build and move into inner-city units is continuing unabated, despite some predictions that the apartment rush was about to end.

At the end of last year, Mr Mitchell calculated that the CBD had 8500 apartments.

A further 4200 units are now under construction, which he said would result in a 50 per cent increase in apartment numbers.

That means that in the next few months, the city will have 12,700 units and because DTZ has worked on an average dwelling population per unit of 1.8 people, the city would have 22,500 people in its central confines by either the middle or latter part of next year.

But with the extra 3200 units being planned bringing a further 6000 people, that tally could quickly climb to 30,000.

The sheer scale of work involved in this transformation is illustrated by a map prepared for the Herald by Auckland City Council staff, which shows 40 sites have multimillion-dollar construction activity either underway or just finished.

High-rise apartment blocks are going up on most of the sites, not always to the delight of the existing and surrounding owners and tenants who often lose their views.

Mr Mitchell has plotted a further 3200 units planned, but he expects not all will be built because demand is likely to decline due to the slowing in net migration gains and the downturn in the English language sector.

Tower cranes are bristling on the city's skyline, providing evidence of what some industry observers believe is the single busiest building transformation in Auckland in 30 years.

Apartment developers are giving the city a makeover that is changing it from an office precinct to an entirely new suburb.

Auckland City Council planning group manager John Duthie is delighted with the city's facelift and hopes 50,000 people will eventually live in the CBD, enlivening the area.

He is proud the city has changed from an office precinct, devoid of people after 5pm, to a lively new suburb which hums around the clock.

He believes the redevelopment of historic Britomart waterfront buildings and the provision of many more apartments will add to city vibrancy.