Catherine Groenestein/Stuff
CJ Mahony bought himself a new 25 tonne Leibherr bulldozer for working on the development.
A $30 million business park and residential subdivision in South Taranaki started because the developer was worried about losing access to his business.
The entrance to Ag Trans, a crane and heavy haulage business based in Hāwera, is on a ‘paper road’ that happened to be part of an area the South Taranaki District Council earmarked in 2019 as a potential business park to lure more business to the district.
Catherine Groenestein/Stuff
Mahony is developing a business park on the outskirts of Hāwera, in partnership with the South Taranaki District Council. Pictured with project manager Emma White and South Taranaki District Council business development manager Scott Willson.
Owner CJ Mahony bought 25 hectares of farmland around his business to secure better access.
Now, he’s developing it into a 31-lot industrial park, to be followed by a 77-section residential subdivision which will be Green Star-rated, meaning houses will be built above the building code for energy efficiency and insulation and sustainability.
“I estimate it will be a $30million development by the time it is completed,” Mahony said.
He is working in partnership with the council, which is building the roads and three waters infrastructure.
Nine of the lots are already committed, and he hasn’t even begun advertising.
The new tenants are a mixture of relocating and expanding businesses and some that are new to the district.
Already, there is a brand-new factory building for Total Windows and Doors, which has just moved from smaller premises in Normanby to a 300m3 factory and office.
Catherine Groenestein/Stuff
White, Willson and Mahony inspect the newly-opened Total Windows and Doors factory, the first building to be completed.
Walls are already going up for the next building, for Egmont Solar and White Electrical, and groundwork for a building for Dialog Fitzroy.
“I went into this thinking it would take 10-15 years to fill 31 lots, but it’s looking as if it will be more like five years.”
It’s the first time Mahony has tackled a project on this scale, but he has previously built and leased several other commercial properties in Hāwera.
“To be honest, I’m just doing this for a bit of fun. I really enjoy the physical work, the physical earthmoving. I’ve bought my own bulldozer, and I’m enjoying myself.”
He and his staff are doing much of the work on site.
Around the Ag Trans yard, the development spreads out like a giant sandpit, with roads being built, site work underway, infrastructure going in and buildings going up.
“My plan is for the business park to be quite a smart looking development, I don’t want a community of tin sheds,” he said.
“In 50 years, this will still be a nice looking, smart area that attracts premium tenants.”
Catherine Groenestein/Stuff
A 12 tonne concrete wall section is lifted into place on one of the building sites.
The roads around the park are wide, with no cul-de-sacs or tight corners.
“My request to the engineers was it should be so a house mover can move a house without upsetting people, build it once and build it properly,” he said.
There will be 300 to 400 people working in the subdivision within three or four years, he said.
“I’ve specially created a space on site that one day will become a food shack,” he said.
“I’ve got no interest in owing a cafe, but I’m happy to rent one.”
The business park is being developed in three stages.
From 2024-25, work will start on a 76-home subdivision between the industrial area and SH3.
There will be an extensive green planting zone between the two developments, with planting transforming and area alongside what is currently a muddy farm creek, into a green space with a walking track that could possibly link to the council’s new Ketemarae Rd pathway.
STDC business development manager Scott Willson said the council decided to develop a business park to bring investment and new jobs to the district, and was pleased with how it was progressing through the partnership with Mahony.
