the village
AIRY IDEAS FOR PARK & RIDE Auckland Council’s development arm Panuku is preparing a business case for selling the air rights above the Ōrākei Train Station park-and-ride space for a commercial or residential building. At present, the council-owned carpark has 178 spaces, which are heavily used by commuters taking the brief train trip into Britomart Station. A year ago, a report commissioned from PwC suggested a potential boost to council coffers from selling air space above Ōrākei and eight other transport hubs, while retaining the underlying transport asset in council ownership. Ōrākei is the first up for scrutiny as an Auckland Transport and mixed-use development option, after council’s Finance and Performance Committee says it will approve disposal, subject to a favourable business case and transport operations staying in council hands. The committee was told of interest from a number of development companies in a partnership. “Over the next 20 years, we intend to realise the latent value and opportunity in these existing park and rides to deliver transportorientated developments with good transport and regeneration outcomes, with new homes and commercial opportunities,” says Panuku’s general manager of assets and delivery, Marian Webb. “We will commence work on a business case for Ōrākei initially, and begin investigations into the opportunities at the Selwyn Rd and Station Rd sites in Manurewa in 2021.”
An AT spokesman told The Hobson it’s too early to talk about parking long term at Ōrākei. Local boards were invited to present potential development options. The Ōrākei Local Board supports such use, with conditions. Chair Scott Milne says the council is pressing local boards to not only cut spending but also to maximise the return from assets. “We are happy for Panuku to explore the selling of air rights above the carpark rather than any other green space in the board’s area,” says Milne. Panuku has not told the board how much of the site needs to be covered but the board is asking for present parking capacity to be increased and spaces reserved for transport users rather than for the use of the residents resulting from a development. The board also seeks a comprehensive traffic safety plan. “Commonsense must prevail and access to the shared pathway from Tamaki Dr to Ōrākei Basin must be protected,” says Milne. The safety of the stand of pōhutukawa in the vicinity has not been mentioned though this was of concern to residents a decade ago when a developer sought to build a residential and retail complex on both sides, and over, the railway line, on land leased from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. The crossing plan was dropped and the leasehold land relinquished under a new developer, Equinox Group, which formed the Orakei Bay Village precinct, and has plans to build The Peninsula apartments on its 2ha site on the Remuera side of the line, at the edge of Hobson Bay. — Wayne Thompson p
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