By Kingston Group
The original site had a land area of approximately 26.8 hectares. As part of our due diligence, the neighbouring land was purchased comprising approximately 9.7 hectares. A total of approximately 36.5 hectares was purchased for development.
The number of rural-residential sites proposed sits at 58 fee simple lots, ranging from 5,000 sqm to 15,000 sqm.
The proposed development is investor funded.
The site will be developed over seven stages, with a timeframe of four years. Stage 1 has recently been completed, with section sales being in high demand.
Challenges & Solutions
Due diligence is important for us when purchasing a piece of land, and we aspire to purchase land knowing our risks and opportunities. In this situation, the site was purchased during the New Zealand Covid-19 lockdown; meaning that we couldnt undertake site visits or face to face meetings with our investors and / or specialists (such as geotechnical and civil engineers, town planners etc). Accordingly, all our due diligence was undertaken virtually. We surround our projects with competent consultants, who supported us in purchasing the land with a full understanding of the site's challenges and opportunities as described below.
It was evident that the site posed many challenges from a development perspective. During the due diligence phase of the project, we identified a number of site constraints and site specific characteristics. This included flooding, liquefaction / lateral spread (geotechnical challenges), cultural and archaeological interests, and civil engineering challenges. An example of the challenges faced is with flooding - whereby the site is subject to a high flood hazard. In working with our consultants, we needed to understand the risk to future occupants, and how we manage this through our subdivision and development design. We identified a high cost would be associated with unlocking the rear portion of the site via a bridge. To overcome this challenge, we investigated the opportunity of purchasing the neighbours land, providing an alternative form of access for future owners and avoiding the flood hazard (and the previously required bridge). As mentioned above, we have a team of highly experienced and reputable consultants who take charge and assist us with overcoming the site constraints. As part of the consenting process with the local Council we provided a subdivision and development design that was supported by both the Council, our local cultural representatives, and our consultants.
Photography: Example Content
We are an investment company, and property is our vehicle. Operating in the Waikato Region of New Zealand, we have a strong commitment to building homes and developing land in a manner that provides quality homes for our people, whilst making profitable returns for our investment partners. We provide a full service from concept to keys - we manage the entire process.
During the early days, our focus was on growing our client portfolio and promoting our brand - Kingston Group; where investment meets property. An early day Kingston Project mainly focused on two lot developments, or what we call 'duplex conversions' where we found a creative solution to our most frequented question - 'I have an existing home that I need to sell before I can invest'. Our duplex conversions enabled our clients to retain their existing home along with their rental income, and build a new home connected to the existing home. Our solution focused lens enabled us to corner the market, and provide an investment / development opportunity to our clients who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity. As a team of three with growth in mind, our focus shifted onto larger, more intensive development.
Fast forward to today, our team has grown to ten staff, all of which have varied backgrounds; whether it be in financial advice, building, town planning, or accounting - we aspired to be most knowledgeable in our chosen industry! With our growth came larger investment projects and opportunities, moving away from the 'duplex conversion' towards higher density developments - with a focus on four to ten lot develop and build projects. Along with our company growth came a growth in investment funding. We've seen great success in our recent projects, such at 59 Oakfield Crescent, Pukete, and 30 Riverview Road, Morrinsville. In addition to our infill developments, we also specialise in greenfield developments, where we are presented with a blank canvas to be creative. Our most recent greenfield development is in Hakarimata, Ngaruawahia, where we are undertaking a 58 lot subdivision with lot sizes ranging from 5,000 sqm to 15,000 sqm. Stage 1 of the Hakarimata Development is now complete - with happy purchasers and even happier investors.