Ruakura Superhub paves the way in Hamilton renaissance

One of the most satisfying aspects of working with the commercial arm of the Waikato-Tainui iwi since 2009 has been to see and contribute to the growing economic confidence in the Waikato.

Even better, to see awareness of our emerging economic strength dawning on our neighbours in the golden triangle – Auckland and Tauranga and now extending to the Government in Wellington.

The upshot? A surge of committed major commercial, civic and infrastructure development projects that promise to rejuvenate an admittedly tired and dated CBD, connect us strongly into the Auckland Hamilton growth corridor and significantly increase our city’s role as a key node in the North Island supply chain; taking pressure off the key seaports in Tauranga and Auckland.

It's no stretch to say that strategic property development has played a key role in this emerging confidence, sustaining the economy through COVID and helping us power out the other side.

For our iwi, these developments kicked off with The Base regional shopping centre, which is New Zealand’s largest single site retail outlet. Today it comprises 85,680 square metres of large format retail, chain and boutique retail, food & beverage and entertainment - owned and operated in conjunction with Kiwi Property Group, who acquired a 50% share in 2016 for $192.5 million.

Like many other developments we do, The Base is developed on whenua that was returned to the Waikato-Tainui iwi as part of the 1995 Settlement with the Crown, as partial redress for the Raupatu illegal confiscations of more than 1.2 million acres of land in the 1860’s. As the largest nonpublic land-owner in the Hamilton CBD we are proud of our recent role in leading its rejuvenation.

Currently, we are constructing an 8,500 square metre new regional centre for ACC – the three pavilions distinctively adorned with our unique iwi designs. Also entrain is the new JV we announced last month with Kiwi Property to re-imagine the future of Centre Place North with an expansive mix of retail, office and inner-city living. A unique feature of the development is the opportunity to reactivate New Zealand’s only underground train station outside of Auckland, potentially tapping into the rail connectivity that has just kicked off with the fledgling Te Huia passenger rail service.

Drawing on all our development experience over the years, we are now in boots and all with our largest, most visionary and most transformative development to date. At 495 hectares, our Ruakura Superhub development is arguably the largest development in New Zealand. It will add around 8% to the urban mass of Hamilton, an additional area that’s larger than the Auckland CBD.

It has not been an overnight process to bring the Ruakura Superhub to the market – in fact it has been 14 years of master planning, RMA applications and hearings, eventually gaining recognition as a Project of National Significance, and then a search for strategic partners.

These partners include the Port of Tauranga, who came on board last year in a specific joint venture to develop the 30-hectare inland port.

They say timing is everything – and it couldn’t be more true with Ruakura. We will be open for business in mid-2022, shortly after the Hamilton stretch of the Waikato Expressway opens, connecting into Ruakura with a full diamond interchange. The Government and Hamilton City Council have played a catalytic role by investing in some of the public infrastructure and local roading network with $16.8 million invested through the PGF programme and $40 million under the CIP’s ‘Shovel Ready’ programme. This public investment has accelerated development by several years and kept under-pressure contracting teams together at a tough time immediately post-COVID.

Recently there has been a lot of debate about the future role and mix of Upper North Island ports. There is clear demand for a major inland port to allow greater aggregation of freight off the dockside for just-in-time delivery to export ships and to more efficiently match import and export containers.

The disruption of global supply chains has been a side effect of COVID-19 and with it, many companies realising they need to have more resilience and redundancy in the supply chain. E-commerce business models have grown exponentially, as has the wish to retain more inventory on shore.

These are all trends playing into the current strong demand we are experiencing for New Zealand’s largest consented logistics and industrial sites at Ruakura Superhub. First to sign on in November last year was national express freight operator Peter Baker Transport (PBT) and we are now in talks with a lengthy pipeline of strategic tenants attracted by the sustainability story which includes inter-generational iwi ownership, direct freight rail connections to Auckland and Tauranga, extensive on-site solar generation, water catchment and reuse, and planting 1 million native plants in stage one.

With its inland port and adjacent logistics, industrial, commercial retail and residential elements, Ruakura will be a centrepiece of commercial confidence for Hamilton and Waikato for decades to come. It will deliver a more prosperous future for the 76,000 members of our iwi and be a pillar in the rise of the Waikato as an economic force to be reckoned with.

Chris Joblin

CEO, Tainui Group Holdings