KEY POINTS:
Auckland Regional Council is spending several million dollars on a potential site for a long-awaited railway station at Onehunga.
The council says it has struck an unconditional purchase agreement for the 0.8ha site bordered by Onehunga Mall, Neilson St and Princes St.
It expects final settlement of the deal, which was achieved through long and hard confidential negotiations, at the end of next month.
But the council, which is technically not allowed to own transport infrastructure, is stopping short of saying a railway station will be built on the former hardware merchant's site, for the return of passenger trains next year to a restored Onehunga branch line.
A staff report to the council's transport committee said instead that the property had "a number of potentially rail-related uses, as well as the potential to be developed with a mix of land uses to link the rail system into the Onehunga town centre".
Committee chairwoman Christine Rose said the location of stations along the 4.3km railway line from Southdown had yet to be determined.
That would be up to the council's Auckland Regional Transport Authority subsidiary and Government rail agency Ontrack in consultation with the local community.
But she said the land presented an opportunity to integrate land-use and transport objectives, and its development could include a railway station as well as mixed commercial, community or even residential uses.
"The resurrection of commuter trains on the Onehunga branch line does more than improve transport links - it also provides stimulus for urban renewal and economic development," she said.
Ms Rose said the site was already for sale when the council decided to bid for it, for fear otherwise of losing the opportunity to develop it into a valuable asset for the people of Onehunga and beyond.
"It represents a positive opportunity to address some of the historic and current impacts of infrastructure development in this growing suburb," she said.
Although the council is not disclosing the purchase price until the deal is settled, Quotable Value records show the property was valued for rating purposes in 2005 at $3,050,000. That included a large, old, timber-products building valued at just $200,000.
It is understood the site's owner initially sought up to $10 million for it, but regional council chairman Mike Lee said the final price was well below that level, although still "several million dollars".
He said Onehunga would be an important stop on a future railway line to the airport, and the site was also bordered by the east-west corridor designated for a rail link between Southdown and Avondale.
