Likely silver lining to Whitby land offering
The last remaining titles of land from Whitby’s original Silverwood Forest have come to the market with the completion of Wellington’s Transmission Gully motorway and access through a link road giving the offering a boost.
The 52.1ha parcel of land sits on the eastern side of Whitby, overlooking Transmission Gully, Porirua Basin and the Whitby suburb and is held in three titles, offered for sale either individually or as one entity.
Around 1.5ha is currently zoned residential while the balance of the landholding is designated rural and will require rezoning to residential use. The vendors, Silverwood Corporation Ltd, have begun that process.
Fraser Press and Mark Hourigan of Bayleys Wellington Commercial, with Wesley Gerber, associate director development land sales for Bayleys Real Estate, are handling the sale by tender closing 4pm, Wednesday 15 June.
The northern title of residentially-zoned land adjoins the Silverbrooke and Banks Boulevard residential subdivisions and now has legal access off Waitangirua Link Rd. This parcel could be developed now, subject to development consents.
The second title of around 42ha is located on the southern side of the Waitangirua Link Rd and runs parallel to Transmission Gully. This site is steeply graded but has a number of plateaus at the top which lends itself to a potential development site.
The third title is irregularly-shaped and also steep, again with access off the Waitangirua Link Rd, with the top platform providing panoramic views across the Porirua basin and out to Mana Island. These two titles are currently zoned Rural.
Silverwood Corporation has initiated a review of this zoning with a submission to Porirua City Council’s proposed district plan framework.
Prospective buyers will have access to up-to-date correspondence and background submissions as part of a due diligence process.
Press says with Transmission Gully now open, tracts of potential residential development land are now becoming accessible thanks to road access via adjoining link roads.
“The Silverwood Forest sites offer real opportunity for future residential development with a small component able to progress as of right given its existing residential zoning, with the vendors currently seeking a change to Future Urban Zone over the balance.
“Their submission is based around the land’s proximity to transport corridors, infrastructure, surrounding services and other consented residential development projects which they believe support a change of zoning.”
FUZ is a transitional zone, earmarking a property as suitable for future residential development subject to a more detailed assessment.
Hourigan says with the wider Wellington region squeezed for residential development land of scale, the strategic location of the Silverwood land underpins its significance in the northern Wellington growth picture.
“Land just 10 minutes from Porirua’s commercial core and 20 minutes from the Wellington CBD and the Kapiti Coast, has to be seen as desirable so we’re expecting forward-thinking developers to look seriously at this land opportunity and to view it as part of Wellington’s future growth plan.”