Avondale: The Auckland suburb dubbed 'Third World' starts to rebuild
Monday, 14 December 2020
An Auckland suburb previously labelled “Third World” is being revitalised with more than $600 million in developments planned over the next 15 years.
West Auckland’s Avondale is now considered the city’s next up-and-coming suburb – with council and private sectors starting to take notice.
Properties in what has historically been a working and middle-class area are beginning to sell for more than $1 million.
John Carter, of Auckland Council’s urban regeneration agency Panuku, said a lot of Auckland’s town centres were in decline – and Avondale’s centre was one of them.
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Development was under way but it would take about 15 years to do everything planned.
Carter said there was “clear evidence” that the area was struggling but there was also evidence of a revival.
Auckland Council and the Crown owned much of the land in the town centre, Carter said.
Lots of sites were development-ready, either having nothing on them or “poor quality development” that needed upgrading.
Auckland Council had already sold a number of sites, including to Ockham Residential and Kāinga Ora, which were building residential developments.
Ockham Residential launched the Aroha apartment development, costing $57 million in September.
The Aroha development, at the intersection of Great North Rd and Ash St, will have 47 KiwiBuild apartments in the 117-apartment complex.
A spokesman for Ockham said interest in the complex had been “phenomenal” and 50 apartments had already been sold – the fastest-selling development it has had.
Avondale was chosen to develop in for its proximity to public transport and the city centre, while still having a “village vibe”.
“It is a suburb of energy, diversity and vivacity. A suburb of soul,” the spokesman said.
“Proximity to regular and rapid public transport is a huge reason we are here. The New North Rd bus route is one of Auckland’s busiest and a service that is getting better all the time, and the Avondale train station is an eight-minute walk away.”
The spokesman said Ockham was “certainly” considering doing more developments in Avondale.
Kāinga Ora is also planning to deliver 24 developments in Avondale – containing about 950 homes – over the next five years.
“The investment for these homes is about $520 million over five years. These projects include some public housing developments, as well as mixed, public and market housing developments.”
One of the developments is an apartment complex named Highbury Triangle.
Located between Great North Rd and Community Lane, the building will include 236 homes. They will predominantly be made up of state housing for older people but will also include some market homes and commercial space.
Five apartment buildings, up to eight levels high, will be built.
In a press release, Kāinga Ora deputy chief executive of construction and innovation Patrick Dougherty said that, like the rest of the population, its tenants were living longer.
“As well as providing warm and dry homes, this complex has been specifically designed to meet the health, social and wellbeing needs of our older tenants.”
Highbury Triangle is expected to be completed in stages from early to late 2023.
A Kāinga Ora spokeswoman said Avondale was well located, with good infrastructure, services and facilities.
“Kāinga Ora is a significant landowner in the area and, as such, we are investing in improved housing.”
A joint venture between Auckland Council and Panuku would see a new multi-purpose facility, combining a library and community centre, built.
Carter said the budget for Panuku and council projects in Avondale was about $40 million over 15 years.
Just recently, Athfield Architects and Isthmus Group were chosen to build the facility and upgrade the town square.
Athfield Architects, commissioned by the council, would build the multimillion-dollar community centre and library, while Isthmus, commissioned by Panuku, would be in charge of designing upgrades for the town square.
Auckland Council general manager for libraries and information Mirla Edmundson said it was important the architects chosen would deliver the best possible result for Avondale.
“We wanted to ensure that cultural practice and sustainability principles will be incorporated into the successful design. We have input from mana whenua, and council’s sustainability team fed into the evaluation process, and we are eager to see how the designs develop with community involvement.”
Marcus Amosa, chairman of the Avondale Business Association, said he was excited for all the developments planned for the suburb as it was “what we have wanted for a long time”.
Although there was some concern that construction would cause disruption in the centre for a while and add to congestion, more people meant more business.
He was on board with the investment being made in the suburb after “years of under-investment”.
Amosa said he wanted to see a town centre that was useful, multicultural and inclusive.
Seating, shelter and greenery would help make the centre useful, and he said it should showcase the diverse community and include elements of Pacific, Māori, Chinese and Indian cultures.
He expected the new facility to become a “base” for the community in the future.
Whau ward councillor Tracy Mulholland said she was excited to see the “highly anticipated” projects get under way.