2 February 2017

Apartment living coming to Porirua city centre

Revitalisation of Porirua’s city centre has been given boost with plans for the city’s first residential apartments – in the former NZ Post building in Serlby Place and an exciting modular apartment development in Station Road.

The sale of the Serlby Place building to The Wellington Company (TWC) will see the top three floors converted for residential use, while the ground floor is earmarked for commercial development to bring new energy to the area.

“We welcome The Wellington Company’s decision to invest in this city centre project. The company has completed its due diligence and the Council is excited about their plans for the building,” says Mayor Mike Tana. “A binding sale and purchase agreement is being signed tomorrow.”

The Council will transfer the legal title to TWC once the company has fully strengthened and redeveloped the building. This will be done by November 2018. In the meantime the Council has granted TWC a two-year lease of the building to allow it to carry out the necessary strengthening and redevelopment work.

“This sale is part of the Council’s move to attract people and businesses to the city centre, which will create greater demand for the services, cafes and shops,” says Mayor Mike.

“It is the second Porirua residential development underway by The Wellington Company. They will also sign an agreement with the Council to construct up to 18 two-bedroom relocatable apartments (CitiBlox) on Council-owned land on Station Road near the railway station and overlooking the Porirua Stream. That lease will run for 10 years, with the option of a further 10-year term.”

Citiblox comprises modern apartments, constructed offsite in a factory environment as 72 square metre modules, able to be assembled up to 3 high in blocks of 6 units. The modules are connected together with an innovative fastening system and can be easily disconnected and moved to an alternative site if required in the future, says Ian Cassels owner of The Wellington Company.

“The Council is leasing the land to us and we will own the apartments and rent them to the public until the lease expiry, when we’ll take them away. The Council generates income from its currently vacant land and we provide attractive accommodation in a prime area at a sensible rental.”

Cassels says their involvement in Porirua fits with their philosophy of bringing change and energy to city centres.

“We see real opportunity in the Porirua city centre, and are excited to play our part and invest in its reinvention as a place where people live,” he says. “We’ve done this successfully in Cuba Street and we think it’s possible to bring life and a different dimension to Porirua’s too.”

The Council’s city centre residential incentives policy was also helpful in his decision to invest in the Porirua city centre.
“We’ve found Porirua City Council extremely positive and productive to deal with. They have been proactive in providing opportunities for developers and have exciting plans of their own for the city centre to add to the attractiveness of the area for future residents,” he says.

“The Council is investing in physical improvements, with the new Kiosk and landscaping in Cobham Court already completed. Plus Serlby Place is just a short walk to Pātaka, Te Rauparaha Arena and pool, the railway station, the harbour and stream edge path and various shopping opportunities. Working together is proving a win-win for everyone.”

Plans for the former NZ Post building include one-bedroom, two bedroom and studio apartments on the upper three floors of the property with resource consent already secured from the Council. The company plans to have commercial uses on the ground floor.

“Having residential choices in the heart of Porirua City is a key component of our city centre revitalisation,” says Mayor Mike. “The Council has helped encourage these developments by offering a city centre residential incentives policy and these two projects are the first cabs off the rank in making this happen.”

ENDS

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