AUCKLAND:
A CITY COME OF AGE - THROUGH RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION
Been thinking about the changes to Auckland’s CBD since I formed the company 15 years ago on April Fool’s Day 1997.
Wellington’s reputation as the fun city is finally being surpassed by the anchor city, Auckland, which passed the 1.5m population mark Christmas 2011.
Both cities now enjoy large central populations, Wellington because the geography demands it and Auckland because of far sighted planners in 1991 opening the Auckland CBD up to residential use.
From eight apartment complexes and 226 apartments in 1991 to 470 complexes and 26,000 apartments in 2012, Auckland’s CBD is now home to 50,000 residents (more if you account for the current ‘hotbedding’ today evident in the student population) and the landscape is not the only facet of the city that has changed.
People are the life of a city and Auckland’s culture is a far cry from the empty streets of 1991.
Who would have thought back then we’d have a dairy “convenience store” on every corner.
Last weekend In the last month, Taylor Swift enthralled the city, the Volvo yacht race stage to Brazil started, Round The Bays drew another huge entry, the rugby restarted……there is now something on every weekend and Auckland’s CBD is buzzing!
The superb Wynyard Quarter is now competing with our exciting Viaduct and the New Britomart is changing the face of retail and dining.
Fort Street and Fort Lane are transforming downtown and the extension of the tram lines will really give Auckland a sense of joi de vivre.
A culture change we are particularly excited at is the growing move of owner- occupiers into the CBD.
This is a direct reaction to Auckland’s housing market which has recovered any dip from the end of the last cycle in 2007 and is back starting a new cycle”.
With Auckland housing entry levels starting at $500,000 young people are opting for an apartment to get onto the property ladder with studios from $120,000, one bedrooms from $160,000 and twos from $220,000 – all of these rising in value in concert with rising rentals.
The Auckland Council is saying we currently have 380,000 dwellings but predict within 15 years we will need 190,000 more – a 50% increase - and a doubling within 30 years.
This to be 60% to 70% within the existing city boundaries.
As Auckland is an isthmus with a huge number of under developed sites in the CBD, apartment living is not only here to stay, it is a desirable asset in a fast maturing city.
We can either expand Auckland to Hamilton and Wellsford putting up with choked motorways we can’t afford or we can intensify and focus on efficient and well-used central transport systems like rail and busways.
Is it time to call us???
Cheers all,
Martin
MANAGING DIRECTOR
