Waikato Business News July/August 2017

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2017
Booming Hamilton gives investors the hard sell
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hectares to the city and the Inland
Port another 480 hectares,
redefining Hamilton’s boundaries
to the south and east. Unlike
recent massive growth to the
north, Peacocke and Ruakura
Inland Port’s relatively close
proximity to central Hamilton
can only boost activity in the
CBD.
Peacocke will bring 3700
new houses over 10 years and
8100 over 30 years while the
inland port will ultimately include
a large housing subdivision,
a 60 hectare logistics zone
and a large commercial area.
Ultimately, the port is tipped
to create at least 6000 new jobs
and make up eight percent of
the city’s land area.
The proposed regional theatre
at the historic Hamilton
Hotel looms as icing on the
cake.
No wonder Hamilton City
Council is talking up the potential
to attract people and business
to the city.
The council’s general manger
for city growth Kelvyn Eglinton
has recently conducted
forums in the business community
to explain how the council
is going to pitch the city as a
place to invest in on a website
‘Hamilton Invest’.
“We got the message that
we need to do something to
start telling the story of Hamilton,”
he says. “You need to
do something that tells of its
economy and lifestyle, we need
to do something that is better
coordinated and a central place
for investment.”
“Hamilton Invest” will
Hamilton City Council
general manager for city
growth Kelvyn Eglinton.
act as a central landing point
for potential investors giving
them detailed information on
economic information, costs,
resources and investment opportunities
in Hamilton and its
surrounding areas. The website
is scheduled to go live on July
31.
The initiative rides on the
back of incredible growth. Last
year 4400 people came to live
in Hamilton - “a busload full
each week”, as Kelvyn puts it.
“We expect that to be about
the same in 2017 on current
numbers,” he says.
“When the market took
off in 2013 we were building
around 600 houses a year. The
next year we were up to 1200
and we’ve held those numbers
every year since.”
The council’s partnership
with the Government through
its Housing Accord and the
Housing Infrastructure Fund
loan could see those annual
Anthony Jones, group chief executive of Tainui
Group Holdings' partner in the Inland Port, LINX
Cargo Care Group Ltd, with Tainui Group Holdings
chief executive Chris Joblin on site at Ruakura.
numbers climb to 1500 or even
1700 dwellings a year in coming
years.
“Why are we taking this
approach around telling the
story and being better coordinated?
Because we have these
competitive advantages and we
don’t tell the story,” says Kelvyn.
“We don’t tell people that
we are within a 90 minute drive
of half the country’s population.
We don’t tell them that
we have affordable residential
and industrial land. We have
the highest percentage of high
value workforce in the country
- a higher proportion of knowledge
intensive employees than
Auckland and the rest of New
Zealand. Yet we know some
businesses don’t come here because
they don’t think we have
the workforce they require.”
“People don’t realise how
strong our economy is. The
Hamilton economy is worth
$7.6 billion and Waikato economy
$21 billion.”
Kelvyn says investment
planned in the CBD will have
a significant impact.
“We know there are call
centres coming from Wellington
and Auckland, we know
there are hotel projects doing
due diligence at the moment,
there’s the DHB building in
Collingwood St, the Genesis
building in Bryce St and the
Anglesea St Medical Centre.
That’s another 1500 people a
day coming into the CBD in the
next 12 months.”
“Adding to that we’ll see
many more apartments in the
city over the next 12 to 18
months. That also will make a
significant change to the CBD.”
- Geoff Taylor is also a
Hamilton City Councillor.
Time to sell your business?
Jono Kennedy
021 045 3871
Otago
Greg Dunn
027 293 0377
Tony Begbie
029 200 6515
Scott Laurence
027 473 5425
Graeme Finch
027 495 3413
Craig Paul
021 786 496
Being in business for yourself is one of the most
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So if you’re wanting to sell a business you’ve
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talk to...and we are based right here in Hamilton.
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