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#1 · (Edited)
#2 ·
Someone's numbers don't add up. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10830375 $250m divided by 152 = $1.6m, which is a bit pricey for a shoebox (45 sqm - 65 sqm). If the 45m ones were $295K, then I don't think the 65m will be a million more.

Normally the NZ Herald confuses billions for millions (on a depressingly regular basis) - I suspect in this case they've printed the speculative figure for the 3 stages in total - stage 1 is obviously a reasonable small percentage of that
More like $25 million I would think for a 11 storey building. Classic Herald inaccuracies as you say HC.
 
#9 ·
Article on Stuff today

Apartment plan bucks recession


A $250 million apartment complex will be built in central Auckland in what developers are calling the most significant development since the economic recession.

The first stage of the project, to be called SugarTree, will begin in the middle of next year with an 11-storey 152-apartment block on the two-acre site between Union St and Nelson St.

Stage two and three will be completed 18 months later, creating 500 apartments in total.

The development is a joint project by a group of Chinese investors and local developer Wayne Allen.

Project director Darren Brown said resource consent had been granted for the first stage of the project, and it was expected it would be completed by the end of 2014.

"SugarTree is a new concept in apartment living for inner-city Auckland. The complex will incorporate landscaped community spaces including water features, sculptures and courtyards creating an urban oasis on the edge of the city centre.

"In the third stage of the development there will be a rooftop garden for residents with spectacular views over the harbour."

The apartments will initially be priced between $300,000 and $600,000.

Brown said SugarTree was in keeping with the Auckland Council's 30-year plan to create more inner-city communities.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown said housing was an "important element in Auckland becoming the world's most livable city".

"The creation of a quality, compact city which protects our natural and built environment while catering for that population growth is a key part of the Auckland Plan, and any development that embraces that should be welcomed."
 
#10 ·
Marketing rhetoric is a bit OTT but Sugartree looks reasonably good from the plans...very dense; maybe extra height could be permitted (volcanic view protection enforced?). Not "high end" but definitely a welcome addition to the city, I think.

Council will hopefully be putting sugar hill's development contribution/levies to good use fixing up the disastrous road layout down the bottom of Cook Street, Union, & Sam Wrigley.
 
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#11 · (Edited)
I think that it is fantastic and it looks as if the Auckland Council is no longer delivering lip service but they are practicing what they preach. No huge parking lots surrounding the buildings, the architecture is good especially when you consider the price range (no more Zest apartments - hallelujah), I love the density, the boulevards, the laneways, the water features, the inclusion of retail and hospitality at ground level and it will act as a catalyst for other developments in the area :cheers:
 
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#12 ·
Retail and commercial tenancies in CBD fringe residential

The evolution of central Auckland through the development of mixed-use commercial/retail and residential spaces is set to re-emerge after a four year hiatus with the announcement of a huge new building project on the CBD-fringe. The SugarTree development along the ridgeline bordering Sky City on one side and overlooking Victoria Park on the other, will feature a stage one offering of 15 ground-level commercial and retail units, with an additional 160 apartments above. The project is a three-stage joint venture development which will eventually encompass an additional 4000 square metres of commercial and retail space, and an additional 340 apartments. SugarTree’s joint partners are Auckland property developer Wayne Allen of Nelson Union Ltd, and Chinese-based Lily Investment FTC Ltd. Allen has been involved with the creation of several large-scale warehouse/commercial and lifestyle subdivisions in South-East Auckland since the 1990s – including his own vineyard and winery in Whitford.

The 15 freehold commercial and retail units in the SugarTree precinct are available in a mixture of sizes and configurations – ranging from 35 square metres to 73 square metres. Eight of the units will be live/work space with a single unit residential dwelling above them. They are being marketed as either lease tenancies or for sale. The commercial and retail units are being leased and sold through Bayleys Central Auckland, with salesperson Millie Liang expecting the due diligence process of potential buyers to take several months. “The brief from SugarTree’s management has been to secure upmarket retail operations which would support the residential population of the units above,” Ms Liang said. Suitable retail tenants would include a gymnasium or fitness studio, hairdresser, drycleaner, licensed food and beverage operation such as a café or wine bar, and a high-end boutique grocery store specialising in home-meal-replacement offerings, she said.

The SugarTree development is located within a mixed use zoning under the Auckland City Council District Plan. Mixed use zones have an emphasis toward shared residential, commercial and retail activities. “In the 1990s and 2000s, the numerous high rise apartment blocks which sprung up around Auckland’s CBD fringe were constructed without complimentary infrastructure amenities – such as retail outlets where residents could shop, or commercial premises delivering a work/home option,” Ms Liang said. “SugarTree’s planners and architectural designers have recognised that occupants in inner-city apartment blocks need a café or a wine bar to relax in away from their domestic environment. Or that those requiring a boutique commercial space for an internet-based business for example, would prefer to have a place of work close to their place of residence.” The 15 commercial units in the stage one development of SugarTree have a leasing price tag of between $500 - $600 +GST per square metre for larger sites and a leasing price tag of between $600 - $700 +GST per square metre for smaller sites.

Construction of stage one of SugarTree is scheduled to begin in the middle of 2013 and be completed by the end of 2014, with stages two and three planned to commence on a rolling schedule after that, through to an end date of 2016. Ms Liang said stage two of the development would include a franchised child care centre as an anchor tenant, with the expansion of retail outlets to service the growing residential population – cementing the precinct’s ‘destination’ status. “The existing presence of food and beverage outlets or social amenities in an immediate 400metre radius around SugarTree is quite sparse. This development will go some way to establishing a neighbourhood hospitality hub,” she said. “In addition to servicing the immediate SugarTree resident population, the retail outlets within the complex will also act as a magnet for workers in adjacent office blocks within that 400 metre catchment radius. The hub will fill a void which stretches from the Sky City environs in the east to the Sale St/Victoria Park precinct in the west.”
 
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#13 ·
SugarTree the catalyst for change, says project manager




SugarTree project manager Darren Brown said last night the $250 million apartment & mixed use development would be a catalyst to transform the area at the top of Nelson St. It should eventually get council help as well: One of the proposals in the Auckland Council’s Auckland Plan is for the one-way Nelson & Hobson Sts is to revert to 2-way traffic, which alone would tame the arterial roads off the motorways at Spaghetti Junction. SugarTree is already ahead of the 2 projects for the site before it, the first of them Jamie Peters’ acquisition of the 8072m² L-shaped site linking from 145 Nelson St, on the slip lane down from the motorways, round to 27 Union St at the pinnacle of the cbd’s Victoria Quarter. The second scheme for the site, revealed 5 years ago, was Brian Sutton’s leasehold integrated development, comprising 5 tower buildings (10-12 storeys above the podium, or 35m high), 2 commercial buildings (2 & 3 storeys) 2 parking levels & a podium level.

Mr Sutton’s planning was detailed, but that scheme ran into the global financial crisis. SugarTree, headed by local developer Wayne Allen (Nelson Union Ltd) with Chinese partner Lily Investment FTC Ltd in the Lily Nelson Union joint venture, is based on apartments – 160 in the first stage, 340 more in the following 2 stages – but is also intended to have large components of commercial & retail units to make the development a community. With the present divide of the Nelson St motorway offramp & its oneway traffic, SugarTree is likely to have less of a tie to the cbd and more of a link to the western fringe down to the ex-council depot property where Rhubarb Lane was the last development proposal, further down to Victoria Park Market, where redevelopment is under way, and the short distance to the Wynyard Quarter, being developed by both public & private interests.

But it’s also just a 10-minute walk into the heart of the cbd, a route now dotted with small retail & commercial premises after earlier apartments developed at the top of Nelson & Hobson Sts had no initial supporting infrastructure. Mr Allen sees 2 other aids to development. One is the change in council development levies from a percentage of land value (6%) to a fixed fee, which favours larger & more expensive units over “shoeboxes”. The other is his joint venture partner, a consortium of Shanghai-based investors who have been developing a residential subdivision at Flat Bush. Mr Allen said his partners had experience, challenged development ideas and were a refreshing influence. 2 members of the consortium, project director Yi Tiejun (beneath the sugartree) & Michael Long, joined Mr Brown (left) & Mr Allen last night in unveiling the project’s sugartree sculpture, a larger version of which is intended to be placed in the public courtyard. They were also in a position to be confident of starting work on the project in mid-2013, unlike smaller local developers who have been constrained by requirements for a high level of precommitments.

SugarTree’s apartments will be more spacious than has been the norm in Auckland cbd & fringe development – 16 units/floor including one studio of 40m², the rest a mix of one-bedroom units (45-65m², some with a study) & 2-bedroom units (75-80m²). They will initially be priced between $3-600,000. Mr Brown commented on the difference between this & many other developments: “I went into one the other day, 3 bedrooms, 43m². You attract low-quality tenants into that, plus a couple of tenants sleeping in the lounge as well. In contrast, we’re completely focused on owner-occupiers.” The development will also have 4000m² of commercial & retail space in 15 ground-floor units which will have a variety of configurations & sizes – 35-73m² - and including 8 live/work spaces which will have a residential unit above them. They will be marketed for lease or sale. Bayleys agent Millie Liang will head marketing of the commercial & retail units while Ray White City Apartments’ newly established special projects team, headed by Virgil Roberts, will focus on the residential units.

Ms Liang expects the due diligence process of potential buyers to take several months: “The brief from SugarTree’s management has been to secure upmarket retail operations which would support the residential population of the units above. Suitable retail tenants would include a gym or fitness studio, hairdresser, drycleaner, licensed food & beverage operation such as a café or wine bar, and a high-end boutique grocery store specialising in home-meal-replacement offerings.” “SugarTree’s planners & architectural designers have recognised that occupants in inner-city apartment blocks need a café or a wine bar to relax in away from their domestic environment. Or that those requiring a boutique commercial space for an internet-based business, for example, would prefer to have a place of work close to their place of residence.” The stage 1 commercial units have leasing price tags of $5-600 +gst/m² for larger sites and $6-700 + gst/m² for smaller sites.

Construction of stage 1 is scheduled to run from mid-2013 to the end of 2014, and the other 2 stages to follow on a rolling schedule through to completion at the end of 2016. Stage 2 will include a franchised childcare centre as an anchor tenant and an expansion of retail outlets to serve the growing residential population, cementing the precinct’s destination status. “The existing presence of food & beverage outlets or social amenities in an immediate 400m radius around SugarTree is quite sparse. This development will go some way to establishing a neighbourhood hospitality hub. “In addition to servicing the immediate SugarTree resident population, the retail outlets within the complex will also act as a magnet for workers in adjacent office blocks within that 400m catchment radius. The hub will fill a void which stretches from the SkyCity environs in the east to the Sale St-Victoria Park precinct in the west.”
 
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#16 ·
Lots of public spaces and water features ...


Stage 1
Prima / Late 2014*
The creation of a micro-community is complete in the first stage. The Prima building encapsulates the greater SugarTree development, comprising of 152 one and two-bedroom apartments, eight live/work units, seven ground floor commercial units with mezzanine floors. The stone paved courtyard has discreet seating areas framed by beautiful trees and water features.

Stage 2
Centro / Mid 2015*
The completion of the Centro building marks the second phase of development.
Housing around 150 one, two and three-bedroom apartments as well as a four-bedroom rooftop penthouse. The development also includes commercial and retail shops on the ground floor, which overlook the central gardened areas. Generous underground parking facilities are completed in this stage.

Stage 3
Altro / Mid 2016*
Completing the SugarTree development, the third and final Altro building holds around 195 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, with additional ground floor retail and commercial units. Atop the Altro building will be an amazing rooftop gardened area, overlooking Auckland.
 
#17 ·
The challenge will be the ground floor commercial units.

In my experience of apartment/condo living in about 4 different countries (though not in Auckland), the commercial shoplots at ground level - which either interact only with tenants behind the security gate, or do so with the public by having a street frontage (depending on the development) - are more often than not a failure. The renders show lovely cafe's and people mingling etc, but the result seems to be the same - a dry-cleaners, a very small convenience store, and a salon.

Given NZers penchant for coffee (and alcohol) maybe its different in Auckland and there is a bit more variety. But for those developments with an active edge to the general public, more often than not its a wasted opportunity.
 
#22 ·
The challenge will be the ground floor commercial units.

In my experience of apartment/condo living in about 4 different countries (though not in Auckland), the commercial shoplots at ground level - which either interact only with tenants behind the security gate, or do so with the public by having a street frontage (depending on the development) - are more often than not a failure. The renders show lovely cafe's and people mingling etc, but the result seems to be the same - a dry-cleaners, a very small convenience store, and a salon.
This is exactly my experience also. Sugartree is a little different to most condos, though, in that it is in an almost-CBD location with a dense population around it. It's also aimed squarely at singles and couples rather than families, making the retail easier to market...Gym, creche, salon, cafe,
liquor, bakery, pharmacy...pretty basic lineup, I'd say. A hotel operation would be useful.

If Sugartree can get it right then Rhurbarb Lane might stand a chance of a comeback. :banana:
 
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#19 ·
City Fringe Apartment Development Sales Surpass Projections

The new apartment development, Sugartree in Auckland central on Nelson Street, has surpassed all the preselling projections of the developers with 26 contracts signed in the first three weeks. It highlights the appetite for city fringe apartment living in Auckland particularly if it incorporates the urban community concept with green outdoor spaces, boutique retail stores and vibrant cafes and restaurants. “This is far better than we ever anticipated”, said Sugartree Project Director Darren Brown. “We knew there would be an appetite for Sugartree with its feeling of an urban community and good sized freehold apartments but we thought that interest from buyers would take time.” Darren Brown also said that there was a lot of interest coming from first time buyers who wanted a chance to get a foothold in the inner city property market, or those that may want a city bolthole and could see that Sugartree offered that option at a reasonable price. www.sugartree.co.nz “Among these potential buyers are a younger group both singles and couples who have lived in apartments either here or overseas and want to be close to town but cannot afford the inner city western suburbs prices.” The SugarTree apartments are initially priced between $295,000 and $569,000, with one or two bedroom options in stage one of the development. Due to strong buyer demand, the developers have now released a 3 bedroom option in Stage 1 priced between $610,000 and $730,000 ... MORE
 
#23 ·
^^ What do you mean "in an almost CBD location. Unless we have started narrowing down the definition of the CBD to the Queen St valley then this thing is in it. The traditional definition for the CBD has always been the island of land surrounded by the motorways and this falls squarely in it.
 
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