Waikato Business News November/December 2019

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS November/December 2019
3
Ham East
apartments on
market
London Central development
is due to finish early next year.
Hamilton East’s Hills Village
development has been
launched to the market.
The development by Matt
Stark will see 19 high-end
apartments built in the former
Hill Laboratories building
in Hamilton East, with four
already under contract before
the project was launched.
Lodge Real Estate has been
commissioned to market Hills
Village. Courtyard apartments
on the bottom level would
range in value from $850,000 to
$975,000. Lofts and two storey
apartments on the second level
were valued between $595,000
and $2.3m, and the penthouses
between $1.4m to $2.5m.
Apartment living taking off
By RICHARD WALKER
Hamilton’s newest apartment block
is taking shape on Vialou Street as
apartment and townhouse living takes
hold in the city centre.
The 15 Vialou Street property,
with 29 apartments,
is being developed by
Atlas Property’s Andrew Yeoman,
who also built the recently
completed townhouses at 1 Vialou
Street.
Nearby, London Central, a
high-profile development by
Leon Da-Silva on the corner of
London and Tristram Streets,
is set for completion early next
year. It has 39 three-bedroom
townhouses and 18 two-bedroom
apartments, and is likely
to bring more than 100 residents
to central Hamilton.
These complexes alone
look set to add in excess of
150 residents to the central city
mix, while others have also
been busy in the space including
Black & Orange with the
mixed-use Parkhaven building
on Tristram Street.
They add to an already significant
total: Hamilton Central
Business Association general
manager Vanessa Williams says
inner city residents were estimated
to number 3800 at the
end of 2018.
“There is a great buzz
around the inner city living as
people are now adding the CBD
to their shopping list of places
to live,” she says.
NAI Harcourts Hamilton
managing director Mike Neale
points to the new Operative District
Plan and the City Living
precincts, along with the remission
on development contributions
in the CBD, as leading to
strong demand from developers
for a variety of apartment and
mixed use style complexes.
“Developers have also experienced
good demand from tenants
for the end product and the
amenity its occupiers get with
being located in the CBD,” he
says.
Neale has seen increasing
apartment demand from owner-occupiers
compared with
several years ago when he says
the interest was largely from
investors. He says Parkhaven
and The Hills in Hamilton East
show there is demand at the
higher end of the market.
Deputy Mayor Geoff Taylor,
who leads the council’s CBD/
River Plan working group,
says when it comes to intensive
development the focus “absolutely”
needs to be in the CBD.
He thinks the inner city could
easily accommodate another
3000 to 4000 residents, which
he says would give critical
mass.
“People living there, eating
there, shopping there - doing
everything there basically.
That’s the secret,” he says.
He thinks the CBD is heading
in the right direction thanks
to some “terrific” development
and helped by the council’s
introduction of two hours’ free
parking. The key over the next
three years will be the River
Plan, he says.
“But I don’t think we’re
going to get the critical mass of
people living in the CBD if we
carry on as we are with townhouse
developments.
“I think what we really need
is far more extensive apartment
Continued on page 5
Airport growing
Waikato Regional Airport Ltd
(WRAL) has reported operating
revenue for the year of $10.5
million, up from $8.6 million
last year. This included a $1.9
million year-on-year increase
in airport operating revenue,
including growth in aeronautical
charges and an eight percent
increase in passenger growth.
WRAL will pay a dividend to
its five shareholding councils
for the third consecutive year.
See earlier story: http://wbn.
co.nz/2019/06/05/massiveupgrade-planned-for-airport/
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