Five-house site ideal for high-density development

These five house sites in Onehunga are being offered as a single entity.

Five adjoining residential addresses in an Onehunga street are being offered for sale as a single commercial development site suitable for the construction of high-density housing.

The properties at 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 Wade Ave, Onehunga, are being sold as one parcel of land by public tenders closing at NAI Harcourts North Shore office at 128 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna, at 4pm on Thursday, December 4.

"The properties are within a Special Housing Area [SHA] which is a location identified for fast-track development to boost Auckland's housing supply," says Rob Meister of NAI Harcourts North Shore, who is marketing the offer with colleague Andrew Bruce. The total site area is 3215sq m over the five adjoining residential properties on the western side of Wade Ave and is about 84m wide by 40m deep, forming an almost rectangular total area.

Meister says they are within the "Jordan Ave SHA", an existing residential area between Mt Smart Rd and Grey St in Onehunga.

"This land is earmarked to be developed to contain up to 325 dwellings under the Auckland Housing Accord, which the council instigated alongside the Government to plug Auckland's housing shortage."

The five properties are to the northeast of the Onehunga business district, with 850m to the centre of Onehunga Mall and 1.65km to the Royal Oak Mall.

Each property has a 1950s bungalow-styled house occupying a full freehold, level site.

"They are character dwellings that typify the area and were probably all ex-Housing Corporation when constructed originally," Meister says. "Each house has a different degree of remodelling and improvements such as garaging, decks and landscaping, but, as this is a development site, these details are unlikely to be any consequence to potential buyers."

Meister says the rare offering of five adjoining titles within a Special Housing Area offers an immediate opportunity to develop intensive housing in accordance with the rules governing SHAs.

"Once a site has become an SHA, the subsequent development proposals within these areas must demonstrate that they are qualifying developments. This means they must be predominantly residential, not exceeding six storeys or 27m, and not containing fewer than the prescribed number of dwellings specified within the Order of Council."

But while any development is required to be mainly residential, non-residential uses are strongly encouraged, such as the creation of employment opportunities, he says.