Yesterday Unitec welcomed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford to the Mt Albert campus to announce that the Crown will be purchasing 29 hectares of our surplus land. The land will be used to build 3000-4000 new homes as the first major development under the Government’s KiwiBuild programme.
You can read more details in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s media announcement.
The announcement has been well covered in the media, with analysis including:
- TVNZ’s Q&A: Govt buys ‘prime urban land’ at Unitec site
- NZ Herald: 3000 to 4000 low cost homes to be built on Unitec land
- 1News: Up to 4000 homes to be built in Auckland in bid to ease housing crisis
- Newshub: First KiwiBuild houses announced
- Newsroom: Phil the building makes his first big deal
- Radio New Zealand: Mt Albert Housing plan a tight squeeze?
- Radio New Zealand: Mt Albert KiwiBuild homes: Private sector needs help – Twyford
- NZ Herald: Mike Hosking: KiwiBuild suburb will look like a dump in a decade
On the day
Alastair Carruthers and Lee Mathias with the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister, Government Ministers, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, local Councillors, Ngāti Whātua representatives and other key officials were welcomed to Unitec with a pōhiri and a haka and performance by the Mātātupu kapa haka group.
Unitec Council Chair Lee Mathias welcomed the guests and handed over to the Prime Minister who talked about the importance of this project in creating a new urban community, while preserving the historic nature of the land.
Minister Phil Twyford also acknowledged the beauty of the land that will become home to so many people and called yesterday’s announcement “The end of the beginning”. He said that the announcement is the first part of the solution to the housing crisis and the site will become a showcase of great urban design.
Mayor Phil Goff called the deal a “win, win” with more houses for Aucklanders and money from the sale being invested in education.
Interim Chief Executive Alastair Carruthers also acknowledged how the sale will enable us to invest more money into our learning facilities to continue to improve the experience for our students.