A key westAuckland suburb is finally set to get a transformation thanks to the purchaseof an ugly vacant lot holding up redevelopment.
After sittingempty for the better part of two decades the old 3 Guys supermarket site on Avondale’smain street has been bought by the council’s regeneration agency Panuku DevelopmentAuckland, and will form part of a long-awaited rejuvenation of the town centre.
Since the late1990s when the supermarket operator pulled out, plans for the strategic 7500-squaremetre site have ranged from a petrol station to a development incorporating apartments,live-and-work units and retail.
But nothing hasmanaged to get off the ground, and because of the site’s pivotal location onGreat North Road opposite the school, adjacent to the railway station and nextto an area earmarked for community facilities including a new library, other developmentshave been held back.
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“Everything’sbeen hinging on the 3 Guys site,” local board member and chairman of theAvondale Business Association, Duncan Macdonald, says.
“It’s been aneyesore for a long time. It’s been very disappointing, just the way the wholething has panned out.”
Located 12kilometres from Auckland’s CBD and with excellent transport links to the city,Avondale has been identified as a key area for intensification. Several multi-unitdevelopments including Ockham Residential’s Set apartments overlooking AvondaleRacecourse are already underway. Accessibility to the area will improve even furtherwith the City Rail Link project which will slash travel times into the citywhen it’s completed in 2023.
Despite allthis the town centre has remained unloved. With its old-fashioned HollywoodCinema, charity shops and taro sellers, Avondale’s shabby yet characterful mainstreet is ripe for a makeover.
The 3 Guys sitewill be incorporated into its plan to enliven the town including new open spaces,a community facility, and a retail strategy, Panuku says.
The site hasbeen identified for mixed use development, chief operating officer David Rankinsays.
“Panukuwill work closely with the local board and community to implement a retailstrategy that attracts new businesses, increasing diversity of products andservices,” he says.
Next to the 3Guys site Housing New Zealand (HNZ) is due to demolish a dilapidated complex of42 terraced houses and develop 200 apartments. The government agency willretain 70 of the units, while the rest will be a mix of market price andaffordable homes.
HNZ also hasseveral other smaller developments around the area in the pipeline.
Barfoot andThompson real estate agent Anna Lechtchinski, who specialises in Avondale, saysprogress on the graffiti and weed-covered former supermarket site will providea much-needed lift in mood.
“The fact thatit will start looking more city-like, more developed, it will make a hugeimpact on the feel of the whole township,” she says.
However, while propertybuyers are attracted to Avondale for its transport links, its reserves such as OakleyCreek and now newer amenities such as the Waterview cycleway, it remains to beseen how the area will evolve, she says.
“The amount ofaffordable housing going into the area at the same time could actually take(away) the flavour of Avondale… for young professionals,” she says.
