Foodstuffs expands with $380m in projects, new North Shore Pak'nSave planned
How much may be spent fixing or rebuilding the fire-damaged New World Victoria Park is not yet known but experts said anything from $20m to $50m could be needed if a full rebuild was undertaken, taking the spending to well above $300m.
The South Island's biggest supermarket, the vast new Pak'nSave Rolleston, is due to open on October 14. Photo / George Heard
Foodstuffs, which sells food and drink under the Pak'nSave, New World, Four Square, Gilmours and Liquorland brands, has a big programme for new and upgraded stores and distribution centres.
Why? More customers, spending more.
We are staying home to cook.
We're not out as much as we were because of the economic downturn and some shopper habits have been permanently changed by Covid.
A rare look inside the huge new Pak'nSave Rolleston this month. Photo / George Heard
For example, New Zealanders are buying more frozen goods and more prepared meals, according to Kris Lancaster, Foodstuffs South Island's supply chain general manager.
And he would know: he's in charge of the $28m development of the new frozen distribution centre at Hornby, a building to be chilled to -20C and which is due to open shortly.
Foodstuffs South Island's new $28m automated freezer distribution centre. Photo / George Heard
Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island, in their $380m-plus expansion and upgrade programme, have:
Sought consent from Auckland Council for the $100m, 6000sq m Pak'nSave Takapuna on a reclaimed greenfields site, 6 Fred Thomas Drive opposite the Lake House. Application lodged last year; Developed and opened in February the new $100m Pak'nSave Highland Park; Developed the new $73m New World Pt Chevalier, set to open this September; Bought Woolworths Te Atatū to upgrade to New World Te Atatū; Developed and are opening the $40m+ Pak'nSave Rolleston near Christchurch this October; Developed the new $28m frozen distribution centre at Hornby, Christchurch, set to open on August 21; Refurbished and expanded the flood-hit New World Mt Albert for $6m; Opened the New Four Square Ōpunaki near New Plymouth in April, costing about $6m; Opened the Four Square Waipawa in Hawke's Bay last November, costing about $5m; Opened the Four Square Putāruru last November, costing about $5m; Opened the New World The Stands at Pāpāmoa on November 5; And developed the Gilmours Hawkes Bay, which was only a delivery service. Last month, it opened as a wholesale cash-and-carry store for customers in a $12.6m upgrade.
A vast new Pak'nSave Takapuna could have a terrible effect on Quintin Proctor's highly profitable Pak'nSave Wairau Road. Proctor is on the National Business Review's rich list and bought that store aged 38.
A 6000sq m Pak'nSave store, costing possibly $100m, is planned at 6 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna.
Pak'nSave owners can only have one store, so he can't protect his prized position via buying that new store, if it is built.
Planners Bentley and Co submitted an application for the Pak'nSave Takapuna to be built on a floodplain, with overland flow paths.
The plan was to raise the ground levels for flooding mitigation.
The mostly flat site was once part of the Barrys Pt landfill, which closed in the 1970s and is near the on-ramp to the motorway.
Flood-damaged food inside the Pak'nSave Wairau Road after the devastating Auckland floods of January 2023.
In January 2023, Porana Rd, where Proctor's store is, was filled with water.
Fred Thomas Drive was also closed because of flooding.
Last July, the Herald listed eight new and replacement supermarkets for Auckland, Tauranga and Havelock North.
Quintin Proctor was 38 when he bought the Pak'nSave Wairau Park, one of the country's largest supermarkets.
Since then, Property Insider has visited Christchurch and seen the expansion there, viewing the distribution centre at Hornby and the new, nearly finished Pak'nSave at Rolleston.
$18.66m Tauranga sale
Simon Clark, Colliers managing director in Tauranga, has announced the sale of 262-266 Cameron Rd for $18.66m.
The 4900sq m freehold retail property in the central city has four retailers: Noel Leeming, Chemist Warehouse, Animates and Elite Fitness.
Clark congratulated Classic Collectives and the syndicate of investors who bought it.
A commercial site in Tauranga that houses Noel Leeming, Animates, Chemist Warehouse and Elite Fitness has been sold for $18.6m.
The property is a short walk from the CBD and home to four national tenants on long-term leases. That will give guaranteed rental growth and excellent exposure, he said.
Clark worked with Colliers colleagues Rob Schoeser, Peter Herdson and Blair Peterken on the sale.
Classic Collectives says it is a joint-venture company established with house-building business Classic Group.
Deals at three Metlifecare sites
Metlifecare's expansion is continuing, although some parts of its growth were only noted latterly.
Two purchases and one sale were approved in the last three years but not announced till the end of May.
The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) last month announced approved transactions for 2023 and 2024.
A Metlifecare spokeswoman said the OIO must publish decision or notification summaries on its website but only announced the three new deals when it reviewed its records.
Metlifecare CEO Earl Gasparich says the third-largest retirement village company has undergone a significant transformation behind closed doors over the past four years.
The Springlands Lifestyle Village in Blenheim is an established village.
A property at 42 Lakings Rd was bought to extend the village by building 24 new independent units.
Construction has taken place over the past two years and is due for completion shortly, the spokeswoman said.
A site in Hamilton's Rototuna at 135 Horsham Downs Rd was purchased to be developed. Construction of the first 29 villas is due to start in the next few months.
This new village will have 72 independent living units, an aged care home and a communal amenity building.
Stage one of the village is scheduled for completion by mid-2026.
In the third deal, Metlifecare sold a property at 2-6 Emmett St, Shirley, Christchurch. This is an adjacent section to The Village Palms, an established village.
'We have recently entered into an agreement to sell the property,' the spokeswoman said.
'Settlement is scheduled for July.'
Marutūahu-Ockham opens Kōanga
Kōanga, the build-to-rent apartment block, opened in June in Waterview. The development is at 2 Oakley Ave, Auckland. Photo / Ockham
The five-iwi Marutūahu collective, along with developers Ockham Residential, this month opened the 36-unit build-to-rent apartments, Kōanga.
The bright yellow block is at 2 Oakley Ave, Waterview, behind the stylish, red-brick Kōkihi, which is above the Waterview motorway tunnels.
The opening of Ockham development's new apartment block Kōkihi in Waterview, Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton
Kōkihi at Waterview by a Māori/Pākehā joint venture. Photo / Alex Burton
Ben Gibbons, Ockham's chief operating officer, said: 'The Ockham and Marutūahu partnership is having a profound impact on this wider area with beautiful and considered intensification, with Kōkihi and Aroha in such close proximity, and the first stage at Carrington Road, just over the creek, nearing completion.'
Kōanga, the rental apartments, at 2 Oakley Ave, Waterview, Auckland. This project was opened in June. Photo / Ockham
He was referring to blocks in Waterview and Avondale.
The Kōanga build-to-rent apartments, developed at 2 Oakley Ave, Waterview, Auckland. The project was opened in June. Photo / Ockham
The now-completed Ockham buildings are:
The Ockham Building, 25 apartments, Kingsland Wilkinson House (see below) The Wamaka Buildings, Wilkinson Rd, Ellerslie, 18 apartments The Isaac, 75 apartments, Grey Lynn The Turing, 27 apartments, Grey Lynn Station R, 37 apartments, Mt Eden Hypatia, 61 apartments, Newmarket Daisy, 33 apartments, Mt Eden Bernoulli Gardens, 120 apartments, Hobsonville Set Buildings, 72 apartments, Avondale Tuatahi, 119 apartments, Mt Albert Modal, 32 apartments, Mt Albert Kōkihi, 95 apartments, Waterview The Nix, 32 apartments, Grey Lynn Koa Flats, 14 apartments, Meadowbank Aroha, 117 units, Avondale Manaaki, 210 units, Onehunga; Kōanga, 36 build-to-rent units, Waterview.
Last month, people were invited to see inside Toi, the first, almost-completed apartment building at the new multi-billion dollar Maungārongo village in Ōwairaka Mt Albert.
Toi, the new apartment building in Ōwairaka Mt Albert by Marutūāhu-Ockham, as at late February, 2025. Photo / Ockham Residential
Marutūāhu-Ockham has got the new 65-unit Toi block up but not yet completed at Carrington, on ex-Unitec land.
That is part of a wider scheme to build around 40 new apartment blocks with 3000 units in the next two decades.
The new Toi apartment block in Ōwairaka Mt Albert by Marutūāhu-Ockham is nearing completion. Photo / Ockham Residential
Toi is due to be finished later this year.
But sales have been slow. By May, only a third of the units in the six-level block had been sold, even though Toi is due to be finished soon.
'We are 34% sold across this project, with a flurry of new interest this year,' an Ockham saleswoman said of Toi.
'We are looking forward to Q4, when the building is anticipated to be complete and we can hand over keys to the excited purchasers.'
On this month's opening of Kōanga, Ockham said: 'The fifth Marutūāhu-Ockham development and the partnership's first build-to-rent project – it was a special day for us and for Waterview.'
Anne Gibson has been the Herald's property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
17 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Kiwis moving to Australia: Incomes, house prices and interest rates compared
It means houses in major Aussie cities cost about 6.5 times the typical salary compared with eight times in New Zealand. Even Sydney comes out ahead of Auckland, with its houses at 8.5 times the price of typical city salaries compared to 9.2 times in the City of Sails. And there are other pain points for New Zealanders. The Herald estimates Kiwis pay around $839 or 42% more at the pump each year for every 14,000km driven. Yet it isn't all good news in Oz. Sydney resident and former Aucklander Keitah Tuleitu's family were hit hard by a curveball last year. Having lived in Australia for seven years, they earlier told the Herald they had been feeling comfortable and planning to buy a house in 2024. Instead, they spent much of the year raiding their savings. 'I would say 2024's been a struggle because my husband did lose work for a period of time,' Tuleitu said when the Herald checked back in this week. It's a reality check that backs warnings from property commentator Nick Goodall of analysts Cotality for Kiwis to look beyond headlines about salaries. Goodall cautions that the big salary advantages from industries like mining can create the impression that every job is better paid in Australia and advises people to look closely at opportunities and hidden costs when pursuing their chosen professions. The exodus has worried many New Zealand commentators. The Herald's business editor at large, Liam Dann, has been warning of a brain drain as New Zealand's young, trained and educated people move to Australia. While new migrants from other countries are replacing many of the Kiwis who go to Australia, experts believe this creates a churn in jobs as people come and go and the most experienced are lost. Winners and losers: City-by-city comparisons Looking deeper into Australia's affordability advantage, some cities stand out as potentially better opportunities for Kiwis than others. Mining hotspot Darwin emerges as the ultimate financial sweet spot, boasting the highest salaries at $173,000 (NZD) yet the cheapest house prices at just $588,000, according to Australian National University income data and Cotality house prices. At the other extreme, Dunedin residents earn barely half what their Darwin counterparts make – resulting in a staggering $93,000 income gap between the highest and lowest-paid cities. Tauranga delivers another shock. Its $690 weekly rents now exceed Melbourne's $670 – a regional New Zealand city outpricing one of Australia's largest metropolises. The city salary pecking order tells a harsh story for New Zealand. All five top-earning cities sit across the Ditch, while New Zealand's best, Wellington, manages only sixth place, according to ANU and Infometrics' NZ income data. Comparing public servant hotspots, Canberra's residents typically earn $154,000 compared with Wellington's $134,500 – a $20,000 gap between the two capital cities. Adelaide leads the property growth with 7.8% in annual house price gains, while Wellington has suffered the steepest decline at minus 6.2%. New Zealand's Christchurch and Dunedin offer the cheapest rents in either country at $550 weekly – but Infometrics income data shows residents earn just $90,000 and $80,500 respectively. Keitah Tuleitu with her extended family. She's made Sydney home despite tough times last year. Pros and cons of life over the Ditch Cotality's Goodall said Kiwis are being drawn not only by better wages but also by a more optimistic feeling in Australia about the economy. Australia has weathered the downturn better than New Zealand, where unemployment has risen faster as house prices have stayed flat, he said. Kiwis have repeatedly listed higher salaries and strong economic prospects as the top attractions when talking to the Herald. Maths teacher Liam McMahon told in 2023 how he scored an instant $31,000 pay rise just by moving to Melbourne from Hamilton. Architect Kyle Anaru started 'accumulating savings straight away' after moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2023, while beauty therapist Bridget Jane told last year how she and her fiance left Queenstown on the hunt for salaries that better matched house prices. But Goodall's 'not all rosy' warning has also shone through in Herald conversations. Anaru was among Kiwis saying how hard it could be to find rentals, while Jane had to live far from Melbourne's centre for affordable rent and talked about a more high-pressure working environment in Australia. Teacher McMahon was also among many missing 'family, friends and Hamilton day trips', while others miss New Zealand's culture. Tuleitu, meanwhile, highlighted how the highs and lows can come in both countries. In 2023, she told the Herald how higher Sydney salaries had meant her family were living 'comfortably' while still donating to their church. It was in contrast to the struggle her parents had gone through in New Zealand, she said at the time. However, their recent struggles had forced them to 'pick' at their savings and reset their goals. Nevertheless, with most of her family having joined her in Australia, she has become an Aussie citizen and says she isn't coming home any time soon.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Kiwis Leaving Clear Vote Of No Confidence In Luxon
Data from StatsNZ shows more people are leaving New Zealand as the cost of living keeps getting worse under National. 'The number of New Zealanders leaving is a clear vote of no confidence in Christopher Luxon and his government,' Labour finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. 'Christopher Luxon promised his business experience would make things better, instead he's making life worse. New Zealanders are being forced to leave to find opportunities that should be available here. 'Almost 72,000 New Zealand citizens have given up hope for a better future here in New Zealand in the year to June 2025, the highest since 2012. That's more than the population of Napier gone, all thanks to this government failing to deliver on their promises. 'No one should have to leave their country to build a future. It doesn't have to be this way. 'We can build a future where young people want to stay, put down roots, and help shape a thriving Aotearoa. 'Labour is focused on rebuilding opportunity here at home while easing the pressure households are feeling right now,' Barbara Edmonds said.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Leading NZ Business For Sale Website NZBizBuySell Acquired By Bizstats
The acquisition also includes NZFranchises and AUBizBuySell. Customers can expect the same high level of service, exposure, and tools they know and trust, enhanced by Bizstats data insights. After 25 years helping New Zealanders buy and sell businesses, Christchurch-based NZBizBuySell has been sold to Bizstats, the country's leading provider of business sales data. Founded by Richard O'Brien in 2000, NZBizBuySell has grown into NZ's leading independent business-for-sale listing platform, connecting business buyers, sellers, franchisors and brokers nationwide. Richard says the opportunity arose when Bizstats owner Matt Stevenson approached him about a potential acquisition. 'It's great to pass the ball to someone with the vision, enthusiasm and skills – and who is New Zealand based – to take things to the next stage,' he says. 'After 25 years building this highly successful platform, it's time to focus on other projects, including our commercial property listing website, The acquisition also includes NZFranchises and AUBizBuySell. Customers can expect the same high level of service, exposure, and tools they know and trust, enhanced by Bizstats' data insights. Matt Stevenson is equally enthusiastic. 'Merging Bizstats' market-leading data with NZBizBuySell's extensive reach creates a powerful offering for business buyers, sellers, and brokers. We're excited to build on Richard's legacy and NZBizBuySell's deeply established and trusted market position.' Reflecting on the journey, Richard notes: 'Not many businesses can boast 25 years online. We've gone from dial-up internet and fax machines to embedded AI tools and a fully cloud-based service accessible from your phone. We're proud to have helped pioneer and shape what today's business listing marketplace looks like in New Zealand. Adaptation and innovation have been key in building this highly effective and credible platform.' Richard extends his thanks to all who have supported NZBizBuySell over the past quarter-century. 'We look forward to continuing to work with you and to offering an even broader range of services.'
