Big push to fast-track 1500 homes

It might look rural now but about 1500 houses could be built in a northwestern Hamilton paddock.

Part of Rotokauri North - leading to the point between Te Kowhai and Exelby roads - is one of the Hamilton spots being eyed for a fast-track development.

Hamilton City Council is still deciding whether to turn the zone into a special housing area and is getting strong signs from interested party Green Seed Consultants Limited.

The group recently doubled the area it wants to develop, taking it to 133 hectares.

And one of the most expensive Waikato land and property sales in 2017 falls inside the area - though it’s not clear if developers were the purchasers.

The Te Kowhai Road lifestyle property sold for $2.85m in January 2017, well over its $1.4m capital value.

At the moment, Rotokauri North is full of empty paddocks and unimproved pasture, city council economic growth and planning unit manager Luke O’Dwyer said at a mid-December meeting.

Green Seed - a development group linked to Ma Development Enterprises has plans to change that if a special housing area is approved.

The group brought an urban designer from Melbourne over for masterplanning with council, then increased the area it was interested in from 60 hectares to 133 hectares - meaning the proposal will go out for consultation again.

‘‘It’s a very, very strong commitment from [Green Seed], that they seek to expand their housing development in this part of the city,’’ O’Dwyer said.

‘‘[It’s] likely to yield at least 1500 houses. They’re very committed to paying for all of the requisite leading infrastructure for the project.’’

However, special housing areas might not keep being approved under the new government, according to a council report.

Councils have been told by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment to hold off on recommending new special housing areas ‘‘other than those in the pipeline’’, it said.

Councillor Paula Southgate asked about prices of homes in the Rotokauri development and was told there would be options.

The proposal included everything from apartments above a small neighbourhood centre to terraced housing around larger reserves and, around the edges, larger and more suburban-scale homes, O’Dwyer said.

Nods to affordability are in a September report from Green Seed Consultants, which is closely linked with Ma Development Enterprises Ltd (MADE).

It refers to ‘‘the monoculture of suburbs with the same four and five bedroom houses and price points which make it difficult for many to own a home’’, and explains what MADE is doing to shake that up in the Auranga special housing area west of Drury.

The group has a proven track record in Auckland, it said, and Green Seed’s group of investors has been buying land in the northern corner of Rotokauri.

But that’s not the only Hamilton area which could get a fast-track housing development.

The most advanced application is for Hamilton East’s Jebson Place, which councillors sent for government consideration in October.

Five other proposals went out for public consultation alongside Rotokauri North: Gilbass Avenue/Quentin Drive in Hamilton Lake, Maui Street and Eagle Way in Pukete, two application areas for Te Awa Lake in the Te Rapa North/ Horotiu area, and Tawa Street in Melville.

About 135 people had their say and Gilbass-Quentin Avenue generated 74 of the submissions, with numerous concerns about poor access.

A Tawa Street proposal got the second-highest number of comments, with 30 submissions, and the top worry there was extra traffic on the road and intersection with Kahikatea Drive.

The next council update on the six remaining sites will be in March 2018, when councillors will decide whether each of them should be recommended to government.

City councillors voted unanimously to put the expanded Rotokauri proposal out for consultation.

Councillors Rob Pascoe and Geoff Taylor were absent for the vote.