Townhouses under way
A complex of 27 townhouses is under development by Atlas Property on the corner of Gordonton and Greenhill roads on Hamilton’s northeastern flank, but finding suitable residential land for townhouse development is becoming a problem, says company owner Andrew Yeoman.
Yeoman has been involved in many developments in the city over the past 17 years, including residential development in the Ridgedale subdivision near Horsham Downs, apartments in Mill St, townhouses off Fifth Ave, and two developments in Vialou St in the central city.
Costed at around $15 million, work on the Greenhill Rd project began in September last year and is scheduled to be completed in the middle of this year.
The development includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units from 50 square metres to
120sqm, priced between the late
$400,000s and around $650,000. Set on a site of about 3500sqm, the first stage of 17 townhouses is due for completion in June/July and is already almost sold out.
‘‘Our market is about 50/50 new-home buyers and investors. For new-home buyers, this provides a starting point for a new house. Quite often, people will buy a one- or two-bedroom townhouse and come back a few years later and buy something bigger,’’ Yeoman said.
‘‘I chose this site because it was well zoned, which is important. There is not enough correctly zoned residential land available.
‘‘There is a dire shortage of land zoned Residential Intensification. Gordonton Rd is zoned Medium Density which is similar, but only appears in greenfields areas rather than in infill locations.’’
A lot of duplexes are being built in Hamilton but it is difficult to find land zoned for townhouses.
‘‘I’d love to do more townhouse developments in Hamilton if there was more correctly zoned land. In Auckland, I can get seven townhouses on a 900sqm site; here I can only get four. What we [in Hamilton] should do is just adopt Auckland’s unitary plan. That way we don’t pay people to reinvent the wheel.
‘‘They talk about best land use and I try to discredit the myth that high-density means ‘slums’. With good design you can have good-quality housing in high density. Traditional architecture is important to me and my business.
‘‘I like to use traditional building methods and brick cladding. It looks good now and it will look good in 20 years. Some of the materials used today will need repainting in 10 to 15 years, or the projects will look shabby.’’
Yeoman has nearly 80 units under development at several Auckland sites, and 66 in Hamilton. Most of his work is now in Auckland, but he has another project planned for the Waikato riverside opposite the Hamilton CBD, which will include 10 townhouses, six overlooking the river. These will be priced in the mid $700,000s.