Works begin on Airfields housing site in Hobsonville Point

The 20 hectare site which was formerly part of the Hobsonville Airforce Base was purchased by Waitakere City Council over a decade ago with the intention for it to become a Marine Industry Precinct.

After a lack of market interest and a recent unsuccessful bid for it to be a Film Precinct, Auckland Council adopted a masterplan last month that will see it used primarily for housing.

The Airfields master plan, as it’s known, has been developed by Panuku Development Auckland in conjunction with the Government owned Hobsonville Land Company and will provide a diverse residential community with a minimum of 10% being affordable housing.

The plan also incorporates up to 6 hectare mixed use zone while retaining an existing New Zealand Airforce hangar which is being refurbished over the next 6 months.

In preparation for the transformation of The Airfields site, building work started this week on the $8 million roading contract that would see key infrastructure roads being built, along with the subdivisions of the first superlots.

Panuku Development Auckland Director of Development Allan Young says that it is fantastic that the first stage is now underway.

“The key infrastructure roads are a critical first part of connecting the site with the surrounding area and along with other supporting infrastructure such as stormwater ponds, will lay the foundations for the next stages of the delivery of the Airfields masterplan.”

Early next year work is expected to get underway on the first tranche of 80 homes as part of the masterplan. The houses will be located along the site’s southern edge bordering the Catalina Precinct, where construction is already well underway by the developer AV Jennings and its building partners.