Precinct Properties’ $100m-plus Mt Eden plans: 135 apartments with offices, shops

Precinct has $1b-plus Auckland apartment plans, its largest at 22 Stanley St, Parnell, where work has begun on a $290m block, leased long-term to the University of Auckland for student accommodation.

Singaporeans Keppel will own 80% of that and Precinct 20%.

For the Mt Eden scheme, Barker & Associates’ assessment of environmental effects, lodged with Auckland Council, shows the scale consented. Senior planner Nicole Heron prepared the assessment. Director Gerard Thompson reviewed it.

Precinct has put no dollar figure on the Mt Eden plans but they are estimated to be worth more than $100m, because the 20-unit Pillars, St Mary’s Bay was put at $100m.

Barker said the site is nine contiguous fee simple allotments, which collectively make up the 5173sq m.

Precinct bought it from Auckland Council’s Eke Panuku. The properties have three street frontages to Dominion Rd, Valley Rd and Carrick Place.

Bayleys advertised it, saying: “Seldom do such large-scale development city fringe opportunities come to the market.”

The properties are now occupied by a number of single- to two-storey buildings, with other buildings and car parking areas behind.

Earthworks will create a maximum excavation depth of 2.5m, but most of it will be in the 1m to 1.5m range.

The proposal involves construction works including bulk earthworks, which will involve rock-breaking for the formation of the basement.

Marshall Day Acoustics has provided an assessment of the construction noise and vibration effects arising from the proposal.

The proposed building is stepped in height along the street frontage, being two storeys in the south, where it is closest to character-defining buildings on the corner of Dominion and Valley Road, stepping up to three and four storeys moving north.

The building then steps up at the rear, to achieve a maximum of five storeys in the north. The building has a maximum height of 19.8m at its tallest point.

Three retail tenancies are proposed, fronting Dominion Rd, as well as a main residential lobby entry to the apartments.

There are to be 54 apartments, comprising:

The Valley Rd building is to be a mixed-use retail and apartment block fronting Valley Rd. The consented building is three levels at the street frontage but five storeys at the rear.

This will be 48 apartments:

The Carrick Building is on the northeastern part of the site, a five-storey apartment block designed with the top two levels stepping south, away from the northern boundary.

This will have 33 apartments:

Underneath the three buildings and shared courtyard is to be a common basement, accessed via the eastern boundary. That is to have parking, services, rubbish rooms and storage space.

The 82-page council decision said independent hearing commissioners Michael Parsonson, Richard Knott and Lisa Mein granted the application.

The scheme was publicly notified on November 8, drawing 35 submissions: 19 in favour and 16 in opposition.

The commissioners visited the site in April.

The decision said the Dominion Building would exceed the building height standard by a maximum of 6.77m in relation to total building height (13m allowable) and by a maximum of 8.36m in relation to occupiable building height (11m allowable).

Precinct Properties’ representatives were:

Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.