Stars align over capital growth corridor
Moves are afoot to beef up Porirua’s cityhood as its commercial and residential property markets revive.
‘‘Business is booming in Porirua. Office space occupancy is well up on this time last year and several key commercial properties recently sold to new and progressive owners,’’ mayor Mike Tana said.
In recent weeks, the city’s North City mall has changed hands, the sale of the local KFC site drew frenzied bidding, and the Porirua City Council has committed millions to sprucing up the older Cobham Court retail area.
The city has also seen a number of government departments moving in, as well as businesses from Lower Hutt looking for space or to escape flooding problems.
Recreational activities are also on the increase, the biggest being a $30 million adventure park planned for Colonial Knob.
Wellington’s rising house prices and a lack of land are believed to be factors in the upsurge in large housing projects, including Carrus Corporation’s Kenepuru Landing, which will have up to 800 homes and two retirement villages.
Work on the conversion of Porirua’s former New Zealand Post building into 36 apartments has also begun, with completion expected later in the year.
First Retail Group consultant Chris Wilkinson, who is assisting the council with its strategy, said one of Porirua’s major advantages was its ‘‘scaleability’’.
‘‘Porirua is very much the growth corridor of Wellington.’’
Residentially there was the ‘‘massive’’ housing at Aotea, talk of opening up housing between Pukerua Bay and Plimmerton, projects in Whitby, Kenepuru Landing, the potential for infill in many areas, and long-term gentrification of areas like Titahi Bay.
Commercially, a large Petone industrial business, which Wilkinson declined to name, had bought and was relocating to the former Mana Coach Services depot in Commerce Cres. ‘‘I think we’re going to see a lot of sympathetic industrial development there.’’
Another business to relocate from Lower Hutt is Turners, which just shifted its main Wellington retail and auction base to a huge new building on Porirua’s John Seddon Drive.
Mark Madams co-owns the building that once housed New Zealand’s first McDonald’s outlet, and a number of other commercial buildings around Porirua. He has been ‘‘waiting for a worthy tenant’’ for the former McDonald’s site and had just secured family restaurant Cobb & Co. The upstairs would be overhauled for office space.
Madams said vacancies were filling quickly in general and he was bullish about the city’s future.
‘‘There are some major players looking, national brands looking at Porirua at the moment because of the opportunities of business out there with the housing, Aotea going gangbusters and the new motorway coming in.’’
Developer Ian Cassels, whose firm is building the NZ Post building apartment project and who is also waiting to begin 18 apartments in Lyttelton Ave, said Porirua was ‘‘starting to come right’’.
A key to the area’s rejuvenation was getting people into the centre after hours, he said. ‘‘When you have more people living in the same area you get huge benefits, you get cafes and pubs working and life sort of erupts on the next level.’’
Colliers International broker Vince Southee, whose company is now managing North City, said he was fielding much greater levels of interest in the area, and it was an exciting time for the city.
Transmission Gully would ‘‘make Porirua more accessible’’, he said, improving its connection to Wellington and its resilience.