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Coast development, Papamoa - Source: ONE News -
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The fast-growing township of Papamoa in the Bay of Plenty is no stranger to big residential development projects after an explosion of construction there during the 1990s.
But Fraser Property - the big international backers of a new $600 million project - claim this one, its first in New Zealand, is different.
Its coastal subdivision Coast Papamoa has started with nine architecturally designed showhomes which are the first step of a much bigger project.
Fraser Property is trying to convince people that higher density development rather than urban sprawl is the way of the future and can be achieved without sacrificing lifestyle.
The plan is to build 682 mixed type residences over about 24-hectares, but each plot will be smaller in size, and each residence will occupy a greater proportion of the section.
"We can't afford to completely use up all our greenfield sites, this is an infill site in an established neighbourhood. It did take some time to convince people that smaller plots, intensification of land was necessary, and I think we've succeeded here," say Frasers Property NZ CEO Stanley Quek.
Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby says the consent process proved the project has its sceptics, though he believes it will be difference once construction is underway and people can see the homes.
"I think communication is very challenging when it comes to the term 'intensification' because people do have different views on that, about Coronation Street housing or high rise, and so we have struggled with that," he says.
The company's plans for eight-storey apartment blocks were downgraded to five storeys, but the project otherwise fits with the council's policy for managing growth.
"We couldn't just keep going in terms of greenfield development, your standard 5, 6, 700-metre square section with one home on. So a percentage of growth management does require intensification and the Coast development is a superb example of that," says Crosby.
Buyers can choose the style they like and similar designs will not be built side by side, avoiding the Lego town look that is sometimes seen in other developments.
While other recent major development projects have struck trouble with demand and finance, Quek says Frasers Property has "tremendous backing".
It has projects worth almost $5 billion underway in Australia, and is established in Singapore and the United Kingdom.
"We are probably within the top 20 large listed companies in Singapore...We don't need as much funding as a lot of other developers would need. We believe in putting a lot of our equity up front and we hope that will serve us well as this development proceeds," he says.
The project will be progressively developed over the next 10 years.
