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“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” So said Steve Jobs, founder of Apple.
Tamsyn was working for a private developer before she moved to HLC in February 2016. She says she gets a kick out of working on a government project that has been master planned, meaning there’s a clear vision and nothing is left to chance. “My understanding of the residents has really grown as I’ve gotten to know Northcote and the project. It’s rewarding to know that we’re having a positive impact on people’s lives by providing homes that are better for their health and well-being.”
Firstly, thank you for your patience over the last 12 months as the Northcote Development has gotten underway. Change is disruptive, but the changes brought about by the project are going to be good. Good for the families who are moving out of Housing New Zealand houses built over half a century ago, into new, warm modern homes designed for the way we live now. Good for Northcote as we renew the HNZ housing, make the streets the project touches more attractive, and create the greenway (see page 22). And with Stage 2 coming it’s going to be good for Aucklanders as a whole, too, as we pick up the pace and begin to deliver quality homes at more affordable prices than most on the market. Take a look at the timeline which shows what we’ve achieved so far and what we plan to achieve by the time the next issue of Everyday Northcote is due out in Autumn 2018.
The table shows the numbers of homes in the first two stages and who they’re being built for.
S TAT E
‘Affordable’ means houses that have a capped price and certain criteria is applied by the government to limit who can buy or rent one. They’re aimed at people who are earning but finding it hard to afford a house
‘Market’ means homes that will be sold on the open market. The aim for these homes is to keep the quality high but the price as low as possible, and most will be beneath the Auckland median house price. The 424 homes in Stages 1 and 2 make up just over a third of an eventual 1200 new homes planned for Northcote as part of the development project.
Stage 1 underway
STAGE ONE
‘State’ means new state houses that will be owned by Housing New Zealand and lived in by their clients. ‘
STAGE ONE
Dec 2017
THE FIRST TWO STAGES BY THE NUMBERS at market prices, often first homebuyers.
Sept 2016
MARKET
TOTA L
N O R TH C OTE
Early 2018 STAGE ONE
16 apartments underway April 2018 STAGE ONE
All families moved in 34 more homes complete STAGE TWO
Stage 2 underway
STAGE STAGE ONE T WO
A FF O R DA B LE
First 9 homes complete
COMING SOON
21
20
Meet Tamsyn McDonald, one of the many people who is helping bring the vision for Northcote to life.
PICKING UP THE PACE
Disclaimer: Projects this size change over time with new ideas and new requirements. Stay up to date by signing up for emails at panuku.co.nz and northcotedevelopment.co.nz, or visit the info centre.
BEHIND THE PROJECT
Tamsyn McDonald says she finds her work in Northcote very satisfying. As Associate Precinct Director for HLC, the company overseeing the development, her role is to manage the successful delivery of the project. She’s a people person, which is helpful, as the project involves a vast number of people from the clients of Housing New Zealand who are being relocated, to the consultants that help design houses or parks, to the engineers that look after infrastructure, to the project managers and the builders building the houses. “I love that part of it – talking to and solving problems with a wide range of people, both on site and off,” says Tamsyn.
N O R TH C OTE
59 225 – 77 – 63 59 365
NEW HOMES, THREE NEW STREETS AND A POCKET PARK The Northcote Development is being tackled in stages to keep disruption to residents to a minimum. Stage 1 is well down the track, with the houses in Cadness Street and Potter Avenue under construction and the first of the homes in Tonar Street now completed (see page 17) .
What we found in Stage 1 was that some of the materials we had hoped to recycle weren’t suitable for a range of reasons, including the presence of asbestos. However, we recycled as much of the original materials as we could and that is our intention, once again, for Stage 2.
Planning is well underway for Stage 2. More new homes will be built in Tonar Street, Fraser Avenue and Richardson Place to replace the original Housing New Zealand properties with warm, dry, modern homes. The Tenancy Liaison Team has begun working through the relocation process with the Housing New Zealand clients who are affected. By Autumn 2018 we will be removing the next batch of old houses so building can begin again.
Stage 2 includes a new pocket park which can be reached from various streets, including at the end of Richardson Place. This linear park will link Fraser Avenue to Lake Road and is the first stage of the greenway to be built. It will include a shared walk and cycle path, some play and furniture elements, and wide berms for trees. The pocket park will be a community gathering space to be enjoyed by all.
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