Coastal marina site riding suburban growth

A waterfront property zoned for the creation of potential multi-occupied residential and mixed-use development – and currently housing an historic piece of New Zealand’s maritime heritage – has been placed on the market for sale.

The generally-rectangular 973-square metre site overlooking Tairua Marina on the eastern side of the Coromandel currently houses the decommissioned dry berthed historic SS Ngoiro – a wooden framed steam ferry which previously sailed on Auckland Harbour some 100 years ago as part of the Devonport Steam Ferry Company fleet.

Launched in 1913, the SS Ngoiro carried passengers across the harbour for 46-years, ironically ceasing its run the same year Auckland Harbour bridge opened. After operating as a floating restaurant alongside Auckland’s wharves for several decades, SS Ngoiro was relocated to Tairua in the late 1990s to make way for development of Auckland’s wharf precinct in preparation for hosting the America’s Cup in the city.

Now located directly across from the hugely popular Tairua Pauanui Sports Fishing Club headquarters in a quiet part of Tairua township, the SS Ngoiro traded as a restaurant and café there for many years, before being reverted into a private residential dwelling. It is now one of only two surviving Auckland Harbour ferries from the early 1900s – with the other ferry sitting derelict beside Auckland’s North-Western motorway.

Thames Coromandel District Council building consents have already been granted for the removal of the Ngoiro, and the creation of a three-storey mixed-use commercial and residential block on the Tairua Marina site being marketed for sale.

Tairua Marina has fixed mooring capacity to accommodate approximately 100 sailing and motor vessels at any one time, and offers a more-cost effective alternative residential dwelling/boat mooring option to the palatial residential properties situated within the high-end Pauanui Lakes development over the estuary in Pauanui.

The flat section at 10 The Marina in Tairua is being marketed for sale at auction on June 25 through Bayleys Whitianga. Salesperson Josh Smith said the approved building consent for the address could either be taken up by a new owner, or used as the foundation for an alternative mixed-use development.

He said any new owner of the Tairua Marina site could “do whatever they want with the SS Ngoiro – bearing in mind there would be considerable interest from New Zealand’s maritime heritage sector which would undoubtedly appreciate the opportunity to acquire just a small piece of the vessel or its brass chandlery before it was broken up.”

“Considerable effort over quite some time has been undertaken by the current owner to acquire the necessary approvals required to take this address to the next level in a mixed-use format – comprising two commercial units with parking at street level, two

stylish apartments on the first floor, and a high-end penthouse occupying the entire top level. Any new owner will have the benefit of immediately acquiring those development rights,” said Smith.

“An established terraced townhouse residential enclave is located immediately beside the SS Ngoiro property, with many of the comfortable ‘lock-and-leave’ dwellings occupied by the ‘out of town’ owners of sailing vessels moored at the jetty immediately outside their back decks.

“The site at 10 The Marina could add a new dimension to this boutique neighbourhood which enjoys a quiet and peaceful location being situated at the end of the road, and well away from Tairua’s main commercial hub. There are more moorings than townhouses on the point, so any time those townhouses come onto the market for sale they are snapped up very quickly.

“Of course by pursuing alternative consents, a new owner of 10 The Marina could look at other development configuration options which could potentially contain more than the currently allocated commercial or retail operations at street level, a modified residential configuration above, or even establishing a high-end boutique commercial accommodation provider across the entire site.”

Thames Coromandel District Council’s 2021-2031 Long Term Plan recognises that some towns within its jurisdiction, including Tairua, are “currently experiencing growth pressures” to support an increasing resident population. Delivering on this future-proofing commitment, work began this month on expanding Tairua’s current one-lane bridge into a wider two-lane route to ease traffic congestion into and out of the town off State Highway 25.

“The council recognises that growth and development are ongoing in the district and will continue over the period of the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan. The council is keen to encourage new growth and development by addressing any infrastructure and zoning barriers that currently exist,” the council report notes.

Demographic stat’s compiled by the council highlights that the number of dwellings becoming available for residential occupation is projected to increase across all parts of the district over the next two decades - with an increase of around 3,580 new houses between 2018 and 2048. Much of the projected growth in the number of houses is expected to occur in the peninsula’s two foremost holiday settlements – Tairua and Whitianga.