Business North March 2021

26 | Milldale - Fulton Hogan DEVELOPMENT Projects on track at Milldale The main entrance to Milldale creates a new link to the northern motorway via a bridge over the Weiti to Pine Valley Road. I nfrastructure is a vital aspect of any devel- opment and Milldale differs in that most of what is required to cater for future popula- tion growth is being built ahead of time via a unique process. “To help create efficiencies and speed up the delivery of services and sections in Milldale, Crown Infrastructure Partners have sourced finance that enables major services such as roading and waste water to be com- pleted right away,” explains Milldale marketing consultant Warren Frogley. “Instead of increased section values, costs are recovered by Council after settlement through the rates invoice over 30 years. “They can also be prepaid in full allowing property owners to benefit from long term infrastructure immediately.” Infrastructure projects covered include the main entrance to Milldale, which creates a new link to the northern motorway via a bridge over the Weiti to Pine Valley Road. This is due for completion and opening around April. Also included is a new slipway added to the Silverdale interchange (under construction); the Millwater wastewater tunnel (completed in 2020) that joins the main waste- water trunk (under construction); an upgrade to the Wainui Rd/Argent Lane intersection (construction due to commence 2021) and a new bridge across the motorway to Highgate/ Millwater due to begin in 2022. Express bus services and park and ride facil- ities are also planned to expand as far as the Milldale/Millwater interchange, with further internal routes planned also. Warren says the outcomes will be significant in terms of easing congestion – important as huge job growth is predicted: “Easing the need to travel on highways is important. Highgate aims to provide 4,000 jobs to locals and there will be growth of over 1,000 jobs in Silverdale plus a further 5,000 as a result of the future development of the Silverdale South commer- cial zone.” Other significant developments in Milldale include two early childhood learning centres, the first of which has already opened. The first park and playground, located opposite the early childhood learning cen- tre, opened last August including a bike/skate track and some large shade trees ideal for family time with fellow residents. A new $20m primary school in Milldale is in process that will provide for 370 students, with space for a further 330 later in the dec- ade and another new primary school is also planned plus a secondary school to provide for 800 students. Since Milldale launched in April 2019 it sold almost 400 lots in the first year in stages one and two - a record for any large-scale develop- ment in New Zealand, says Warren. Covid-19 has not slowed it down much and Warren says that growth is still happening at a fast pace with a total of 720 lots sold at the completion of stages two and three. Included in these are 17 super-lots provid- ing 87 dwellings, taking the total dwellings to 941. Construction on six of these super-lots is already underway. The first residents moved into Milldale No- vember 2019 and now people living in around 300 homes call Milldale their home. The total number of lots for consent on Milldale is 4,000 with an eventual population potential of approximately 15,000. T Karen Phelps Specialist Civil Works Contractors Earthworks/Drainage/Services Retaining Walls & Minor Civil Structures Level 1 65-69 Forge Rd, Silverdale, Auckland admin@kiwicivil.co.nz | www.kiwicivil.co.nz