Fletcher Building and Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara say work has started a new 239-residence subdivision on Clark Rd at Hobsonville in Auckland's northwest.
Site works are under way for Te Uru, a statement said, and the homes will be standalone, duplex, terraced and three-level apartments.
Steve Evans, Fletcher residential and development chief executive, said a partnership had been formed with Māori on the project.
Daniel Clay, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara chief executive, said he was pleased to see work start and that a strategic partnership had been formed with Fletchers. The project was in the tribal rohe and high growth area of Auckland's northwest, he said.
Materials are being cleared from the flat site where construction is about to start, a Fletcher spokesperson said, and a display suite is opening.
The first homes are expected to be on sale within about 18 months.
Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara is part of the wider Ngāti Whātua iwi, a statement said.
Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara's tribal area extends from Massey in the northwest of Auckland to Wellsford.
It settled its Treaty of Waitangi claim with the Crown in 2013, which established the post-settlement governance entity Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara.
Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara Whenua Hoko Holdings is the commercial property entity, established to manage and grow the commercial property interests.
Through its subsidiary Te Uru, Whenua Hoko Holdings invested in Hobsonville Point via the purchase of the 9ha Te Uru precinct.
The Fletcher Building block is part of the Te Uru precinct where about 550 new homes will be built eventually, the statement said.