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Plans to potentially turn a 100-year-old Auckland racecourse into thousands of new houses and apartments have spurred concerned residents to hold a community meeting next week.
It comes as it has now been revealed a proposal to rezone the 35ha Avondale Racecourse into land suitable for apartments and terrace houses will be heard in October or November.
Auckland Council values the racecourse at $77.5 million.
However, rezoning the land for intensive housing could see its value shoot up to $300m, the Avondale Business Association says.
The association has called a community meeting on March 28 so residents can learn more about the rezoning proposal and try to have a say in what happens to the land.
“We are wanting to make people aware of the proposal,” the business association chair Marcus Amosa said.
“The local community wants to be considered for any future decisions that affect the racecourse because it’s an important community space for us.”
A future sale of the track has been in discussions for years now as attendances at its racing events have dropped off and it was identified as a track that should be closed in a 2018 government-commissioned report into the industry.
Racing events were held at the track last year but are set to wind up by the end of 2025, if not sooner.
Owners of the track, the Avondale Jockey Club, have already sold off land on the fringes of the track with a joint venture by Marutūahu and developers Ockham buying 1.58ha in July 2022.
The joint venture now plans to spend $550m building 750 apartments in eight blocks of up to 10 storeys.
Should the Avondale Jockey Club sell the rest of the racecourse land, it could reinvest the money back into horse racing.
Developer Ockham Residential has already built the Aroha apartment block around the corner from the Avondale Racecourse and bought a second 1.5ha section nearby as part of a joint venture. Photo / Adrian Malloch Photography
But Ross Clow from the Whau local board hopes some of the land is gifted back to the community.
Clow said in some cases in smaller towns, racing clubs forced to close their tracks had gifted their land to local councils in recognition it has been a valuable community space.
He hopes half of the 35ha Avondale course can be retained as green space, through a combination of sports fields and parks.
As a minimum, he hopes space can be retained for the highly popular Avondale markets.
Clow said ratepayers spend about $330,000 a year supporting the track by renting its inner fields as sports grounds and renting space for the markets.
