Suburb of the future

Atop the peninsula jutting out into Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour is a prototype of what the future of the city’s suburbs could look like.

The former defence base at Hobsonville Pt has been transformed into a busy hive of construction amid the local schools, cluster of townhouses, suburban homes, a cafe and information centre.

The vision is a sustainable community of people who can live, work and play locally. Once complete it will host a number of retail stores, offices, about 3000 homes and a full dining and entertainment precinct along its waterfront.

Already it has schools, ferries, a cafe and a regular farmers’ market.

In the middle of the working day there was a buzz of activity outside the suburb’s only dining establishment, the Catalina Cafe. Most of those the Herald spoke to were people working in the area or visitors who’d come to get a glimpse of the area’s rapid development.

Northcote Pt resident Michelle Batchelor was there with her parents and young daughter to have a peek at the area and some show homes.

“We like the open space — it’s a modern, family environment,” she said.

Others commented on the suburb’s image as a one-stop destination.

Both Ross Dinely, from Browns Bay, and Gareth Kinill said there was a real community feel to the area.

Local resident Jacob Aitken was one of those who has made the most of being able to live, work and play locally.

As a builder he’d been involved in the construction of some of the homes and had decided to buy one for his young family. He said the area had become a nice place to live. “Everything is so accessible, the level is nice, you can walk anywhere without it being too much of a mission.”

Hobsonville Land Company chief executive Chris Aitken hoped the growing suburb would become a roadmap for the future of suburban development.

“It’s a masterplan, the flagship for new towns.”