• Character office space… top level of GRP building (artist’s impression).
  • Office premises with a difference… Catalina Workshops building (artist’s impression).
  • Catalina Bay…an artist’s impression of what Hobsonville Point’s new commercial and community hub will look like.

Big Plans for Hobsonville Point’s Commercial Hub

What is being described as the water gateway to northwest Auckland is beginning to take shape at Hobsonville Point with a range of commercial projects underway around the wharf.

Development company Willis Bond & Co has commenced restoration work on a number of historic waterfront buildings on approximately 1.8 hectares of land at Catalina Bay at Hosbonville Point.

The buildings once housed and serviced Catalina and Sunderland flying boats and became part of an important air force base in WWII.  They have sat mostly idle for many years but are now being rejuvenated into a mix of character office, food and beverage, and retail premises in the first stage of a mixed use development.  Subsequent stages will include terraced housing and apartment complexes and further pavilion style commercial offerings.

The development will surround the new wharf, which provides a commuter ferry service to and from Auckland’s CBD, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021.

Willis Bond & Co secured the development rights over the land in a competitive sales process managed by Bayleys Real Estate on behalf of the Hobsonville Land Company Ltd (HLC). HLC was established by the government to oversee the development of the former Defence Department land as part of its aim to increase the supply of quality, medium density housing in Auckland.

HLC chief executive Chris Aiken says the Catalina Bay development will be a vibrant commercial and social hub for the rapidly expanding Hobsonville Point township which will eventually house over 11,000 people.

“We wanted it to provide an exceptional, world-class waterfront precinct for residents and visitors in what will be the main harbour gateway to the northwest,” Aiken says. “It was also important that any development celebrated the bay’s aviation and military history and retained the seaplane hangar and other key heritage buildings.  

“Willis Bond was chosen for the project because of the innovative concept ideas it came up with for the site and its extensive restoration experience in Wellington’s CBD and industry-leading waterfront development track record. At Catalina Bay, they have partnered with Cheshire Architects, which has played a leading role in the redevelopment of the historic Britomart precinct.”

Willis Bond & Co project director Wayne Silver says work on the refurbishment of six former airforce buildings of various sizes is well under way and should be completed by the end of the year. The largest of these will be the Catalina Workshops building developed in the early 1940s as a hangar and servicing facility for training Catalina pilots to assist British efforts against the Japanese.

The walls of the concrete building are being opened up with extensive glazing which will flood the premises with natural light.  A mezzanine level is being added and the complex will provide high-stud, character office space.

One half of the building will be occupied by HLC which will relocate its head office into the premises. The other half, comprising approximately 600 sqm of ground floor space and 400 sqm of mezzanine, is available for lease.

Bayleys North Shore Commercial office leasing specialist Dean Gilbert-Smith, who is handling the leasing of the Catalina Point office space for Bayleys with Auckland colleagues Brendan Graves and Mark Preston, says it’s the type of space that will appeal to tenants looking for West Auckland premises with a 'wow factor'. “There’s not a lot of character space available in the north west and this would suit entrepreneurial businesses looking for premises that are different and special.”

Other historic buildings surrounding the Catalina Workshops will house a waterfront café, a restaurant as well as a bigger base for the well-established Hobsonville Point Farmers Market, recently rebranded as Catalina Bay Farmers Market.  “The Farmers Market has been a very popular weekend attraction for some time now and its operation will be expanded to include week days for some traders keen to establish an increased presence,” says Silver. “This will mainly be sellers who provide fresh convenience products for commuters and residents such as fruit and veges, meat and roasted coffee. The traditional weekend-only stall holders will still be an integral part of the market and space will be created for them inside and outside the buildings. The new look market opened last weekend as the first completed tenancy at Catalina Bay.”     

On the eastern side of the Farmers Market will be the GRP building where technicians once worked with glass reinforced plastics. Dean Gilbert-Smith says this will provide approximately 400 sqm of character office space over two levels.

“This is a very striking, stand-alone character building with a high pitched roof. It would suit a service related business looking to brand itself in West Auckland, and wanting a high profile building, such as real estate company or an architectural, legal or accounting practice.”

The centrepiece of the Catalina Bay redevelopment will be the Sunderland Hangar built in 1939 by Teal for its new Trans-Tasman sea planes. With the onset of World War II, its operations were relocated to Mechanics Bay and the building became home to the Short Sunderland aircraft.

The massive British flying boats were critical to New Zealand’s war effort, patrolling the Pacific and rescuing downed allied airmen. The RNZAF was the last organisation in the world to keep the Short Sunderland in service, retiring the aircraft in 1967.

The construction of the hangar used a state-of-the-art, lightweight steel roof truss system to leave the interior free of supporting posts so it could accommodate large planes. This structure has been retained although stripped back to its membrane to enable asbestos cladding to be removed. The large hangar is being reclad in keeping with its original external look and internally will contain a new mezzanine office floor and combined manufacturing and retail space at ground level.

Australian craft brewer Little Creatures will launch its expansion into New Zealand at Catalina Bay establishing a micro brewery and dining hall on the ground floor. Lion New Zealand, which owns Little Creatures, is to lease 1500 sqm space which will accommodate this as well as a café and premium fish and chip shop.

‘’A full-height void will be left at the front of the building so that visitors can see the roof trusses, a spectacular 13m above, and the 8m high mezzanine office level under these will look down through glass walls over all the activity below,” says Wayne Silver.

Dean Gilbert-Smith says the 1300 sqm mezzanine level can be divided in a number of ways and would suit smaller office businesses or co working operations which thrive in character buildings which offer the opportunity for social connection and a strong interaction between occupants.

The rebuilding of Sunderland Hangar is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018.  A public plaza in front of it will ensure sight lines to the harbour remain and that the hangar itself is always visible from the water, says Silver.

The next stage of the development scheduled to commence in mid 2018 alongside the Sunderland Hangar will encompass around 80 apartments and seven terraced houses.
“Our aspirations for Catalina Bay are very high,” says Silver. “All great cities have nodes of interest often centred on sites of historic significance which are an important part of their fabric – the Hudson Yards in New York being a good example. We need more of these in Auckland encompassing high quality mixed use communities tucked away from the congestion but still close to good public transport services which Catalina Bay offers with its ferry and bus terminals.”

Silver sees it becoming a regional destination as well as the centre of the Hobsonville Point community.  He imagines when cruise ship passengers arrive in Auckland in the future and are given a list of excursions, “taking the ferry to Catalina Bay will be near the top of the list of recommended day trips, just like Waiheke Island is now”.