A first of its kind 30-unit terraced iwi housing development near New Plymouth’s prestigious Pukekura Park is in the works, with iwi members having first dibs on the townhouses.
The largest Taranaki iwi, Te Ātiawa, has called for expressions of interest in its latest multi-million dollar residential development, Pukekura – The Parade, on Liardet St.
The 6400 square-metre site, which has a land value of $2.75 million, is about 450 metres from the city centre of New Plymouth, and about 350 metres from the entrance to Pukekura Park.
The area is well known for its luxurious homes and is sometimes referred to as the city’s “dress circle”.
Five different two-storey floor plans are being presented to the market as part of Pukekura – The Parade. They offer two and three-bedroom residences ranging in size from 77sqm to 100sqm, each with an internal courtyard and onsite parking.
The terraced housing development is the first of its kind in New Plymouth. It will require the removal of most of the existing buildings at the site, which have served many purposes over the years, including once being home to Taranaki’s polytech.
The properties are being marketed through Bayleys Taranaki, but sales consultant Neale Parkinson was unable to give a ballpark figure of what the homes may sell for.
Taranaki Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) ambassador Garry Malcolm was certain the development would draw a high demand from a cross-section of people from retirees to professionals.
“And what happens when there’s a high demand? Prices go up.”
It would be “crystal-ball gazing” to say how much the townhouses would sell for but Malcolm cited recent sales of sections in the “prime” area netting between $600,000 and $800,000, some without dwellings.
Figures from property value analysts Corelogic showed the median February valuation for homes in central New Plymouth was $682,900, $100,000 more than the overall median value for the city.
On nearby Fillis St, homes of more than $1m are the norm.
Te Kotahitanga o Te Ātiawa chairwoman Liana Poutu said Te Ātiawa iwi members would have first options of buying the homes.
“Pukekura – The Parade will be competitively priced, and the commercial profits will allow Te Ātiawa to deliver programmes and other benefits to our hapū and whānau, while also continuing to reinvest and grow our pūtea and commercial footprint upon our tribal lands,” she said in a media release.
Following its 2014 Treaty of Waitangi settlement, where it negotiated an $87m cash settlement, Te Ātiawa had the option to purchase, with a deferment available for up to two years, 51 sites within its tribal boundaries as part of the commercial redress element of the deal.
The Liardet St site was one of those options.
Since settlement the iwi has since embarked on a broad property investment programme, which has seen it purchase and develop a number of residential sites in and around New Plymouth, including a 14-section residential development at Record St, Fitzroy, known as Te Kekeu.
“These projects exemplify Te Ātiawa’s commitment to being a ‘best in the class’ property developer over the long-term, delivering outcomes for our Te Ātiawa hapū and whānau to be proud of,” Poutu said.
Parkinson said expressions of interest were also open to the public, but iwi would have priority rights.
News of the housing development had already garnered a strong interest, he said.
“And we think that will continue to grow.”
It was yet to be finalised whether the properties would be sold at a set price or would be open to bids, Parkinson said.
“Both Bayley’s Taranaki and Te Ātiawa are confident that all units within Pukekura – The Parade will sell down in a relatively short timeframe when they come to the market and the expression of interest process provides the market a heads up of what is to come – shortly.”