Auckland Council selling land previously leased by Remuera Golf Course to make way for housing
Land leased by a prestigious Auckland golf club is being sold by Auckland Council.
A 2.8 hectare block of land previously leased by Auckland Council to Remuera Golf Club is being sold by council controlled organisation Panuku to make way for up to 100 houses.
The site, being marketed by Bayleys Real Estate, is a vacant block of land at 20 Donnelly St across the road from the prestigious 18-hole course.
Mayor Phil Goff has been a strong advocate for making better use of central Auckland land taken up by golf clubs.
In the lead up to the 2016 local body elections Goff said the council had to look at what assets returned the least value.
It got “negligible” returns from Remuera Golf Club, a course that was not open to the public, he sai
“I think at the very least (selling) has to be an option,” he said.
In 2016 Goff told the New Zealand Herald: “That fact that John Key is an honorary member doesn’t exclude the golf course [sale] from scrutiny.”
On its register New Zealand Golf lists Key as belonging to Royal Auckland and Grange, in Otahuhu, not Remuera. According to the site, none of the 35 rounds Key is listed as playing were at Remuera.
The golf club has not responded to requests for comment.
Bayleys corporate projects manager Gerald Rundle said Panuku – the city’s urban regeneration agency – had a mandate to continually review the council’s property portfolio to find smart ways to generate income for the region, or to sell land to put it to better use.
The property is for sale by tender, closing at 4pm on June 6.
“This represents an exceptional opportunity to secure a very large block of land in an established high value residential area which is considered one of Auckland’s most desirable places to live,” Rundle said.
“There is a scarcity of large, central greenfield development sites like this with established infrastructure in place to cater for development.”
The property is an elongated strip of vacant, grassed land which extends in a northerly direction from Norman Lesser Drive on the western side of Donnelly St.
It is about 525 metres long and 60m wide.
It had a moderate contour of about 15m from north to south, giving it sweeping views, Rundle said.
The land has a residential – mixed housing suburban zoning.
“The zone enables intensification and medium density housing, while retaining a suburban built character.”
Development within the zone was generally two-storey detached and attached housing but consent may be sought for a higher density development, he said.
Panuku director of development Allan Young said the buyer would be required to build to at least a six Homestar standard.
Homestar is a residential rating tool developed by the New Zealand Green Building Council to ensure a high standard of energy efficiency, health and performance in new homes.
Panuku requires a minimum six Homestar standard on all land it sells or develops for new homes.
Source – Stuff
