Matthew Bai
This past week saw the announcement of a UDA by Housing Minister Phil Twyford, changes to Wellington’s “wooden skyscraper” proposal, and new consent figures released for Auckland.
Additionally, a major housing development for Auckland’s Dominion Road has been rejected, igniting renewed controversy regarding the state of NIMBYism in one of NZ’s fastest growing cities.
UDA:
Housing Minister Phil Twyford has confirmed he will be taking a proposal to Cabinet ‘very soon’ to establish a special purpose urban development authority (UDA). The agency is set to gain planning and consenting powers to override Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan.
The stated purpose of the proposed UDA is to “speed up the delivery of new housing Auckland desperately needs” according to Auckland Business Chamber head Michael Barnett. This will be done through the establishment of special precincts governed directly by the UDA, with all planning and consenting decisions carried out independently of Auckland Council.
The UDA will possess control over up to 15 areas, including the Unitech Campus in Mt Albert, the Dominion Road Corridor, and land owned by the Tamaki Regeneration Company. These sites will no longer be subject to the Auckland Unitary Plan, and all planning decision making will be carried out by the Central Government. It is hoped the UDA will work in collaboration with Kiwibuild and private development partners to deliver additional housing which wouldn’t be viable if assessed against AUP rules.
CPNZ will produce an analysis piece upon the release of further details, and we encourage our audience to take a balanced view on the matter.
Wooden Skyscraper Delayed:
Wellington developer Bob Jones has delayed a proposal to construct what would have been the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper, citing his inability to secure a fixed price construction contract as the cause. In an announcement last August, it was reported the proposed building would stand 12 levels tall upon completion, and utilize CLT as a key structural component. However, these plans resulted in cost estimates which were up to three times higher than a comparable structure.
Jones said the company was looking at a “fresh approach” for the office tower that would deliver “the identical building to that [was] proposed” and bring the building to a 100 % earthquake rating under the new building standards. This is said to involve extensive refurbishments and alterations to the existing structure, as opposed to a complete rebuild as originally planned.
Jones purchased the building in 2016 for $3.7 million (NZD).
New consent figures released for Auckland:
Auckland residential consent approvals are up 28 per cent in the year to July. 12,845 Auckland consents were issued annually in the latest period, second only to the record-setting 12,937 consents issued in the year to June 2004. Of these, stand-alone houses accounted for nearly half or 6039 new homes. An all-time record 3032 townhouses, flats, and units were approved.
However, nationally, the exact opposite trend was displayed with new house consents falling 10 per cent in the month of July. “The number of new homes consented can be quite volatile on a monthly basis, particularly as the number of apartments consented tends to fluctuate a lot,” warned construction indicators manager Melissa McKenzie.
Apartments and townhouse building consents nationally were up, she said, while stand-alone house consents had been flat during the past two years. More consents are being granted for apartments; townhouses, flats, units and retirement villages, up 29 per cent to a total of 11,843. The number of stand-alone houses consented fell 1 per cent to 21,007, according to Statistics NZ.
ASB said: “Housing construction demand has remained reasonably strong in Auckland and Wellington, underpinned by undersupplied housing stock following a number of years of strong population growth”.
Dominion Road application rejected:
A proposal by Panuku to construct a 104 unit apartment building on Dominion Road has been rejected by Auckland Council’s independent planning commissioners. The council believed the project was too big and bulky and would erode the character of the area. Part of the plan included demolition of the plastered brick Universal Building on Dominion Rd, built in 1949.
Following public submissions and hearings, planning commissioners refused resource consent, citing the scale, bulk and intensity of the proposed development as the main reasons.
Dominion Rd Business Association manager Gary Holmes called the decision short-sighted, saying if similar developments are rejected on arterial routes like Dominion Rd, where light rail – a modern version of trams – are planned, it will not achieve urban regeneration and the critical mass for mass transit to work.
“We desperately need investment and developments of this type along Dominion Rd and Auckland Council is at risk of missing the opportunity to turbocharge its mass transit projects if it gets stuck in the past.
“For years there has been underinvestment along Dominion Rd due to the uncertainty because of transport planning and now when a proposal is put forward that responds to the future vision for the area, it is rejected because of a vocal minority that wants to preserve derelict buildings that have outlived their usefulness and should have been demolished years ago”, he said.
Holmes agreed “significant” historic buildings need to be protected but said many of the older buildings along Dominion Rd have earthquake issues and there is little incentive to property owners to spend the huge amounts of money required to bring them up to standard”.
CPNZ previously published an article outlining the challenges facing Dominion Road in terms of future development, with historical overlays being one of the limiting factors.
Finally, consent has been approved for the construction of a 79 unit apartment building on Great North Road, next to the Dylan. The render above suggests the structure will stand six levels above ground at its highest point, although we have yet to receive detailed floor plans or elevations.
According to CPNZ Urban Design Editor Jordan Pauw, “The development is encouraging to see, this sort of density is important to the future of Auckland, particularly along a route like Great North Road and in a Mixed Use Zone. The impression given by the renders suggests the developers have considered the character of the area and surrounding buildings (particularly the Dylan), and the facade of the building has been broken up to keep it within the human scale. The quality of the completed development will be something to look for”.
~ENDS~