Three Kings from quarry to community

The Three Kings development is one of Auckland’s largest brownfield regeneration projects, transforming the former quarry at 985 Mt Eden Road into a modern, well-connected urban neighbourhood. What was once an industrial site is now becoming a residential community that will eventually deliver 600-700 homes, high quality public spaces, and new amenities for residents and the wider area.

To enable the project, Fletcher Residential sought a private plan change which anticipated existing reserve land being developed into high density housing, in exchange for parts of private land to be vested and developed as reserves. Approval in 2015 was followed by community appeals, eventually leading to a 2017 settlement and a revised precinct plan. Over subsequent years, multiple agreements were concluded (including two land exchanges and several infrastructure funding agreements) enabling earthworks remediation, protection of volcanic and cultural features, and the delivery of new public assets such as sports fields, a playground, walkways, and car parks. The graphic below shows these key milestones.

These milestones, and the level of coordination they required, highlighted the scale and complexity of the development. They also exposed the limitations of traditional processes when dealing with large scale developments delivering multiple types of assets. In response, Auckland Council’s Infrastructure Investment and Phasing (IIP) team created the Integrated Workstream Structure (IWS), a coordinated framework for managing complex developments such as Three Kings. The IWS brings together subject matter experts from relevant council teams, CCOs, and the developer to ensure decisions, sequencing, and delivery are aligned.

For projects that involve multiple asset types to be vested, and require coordinated input from several parts of council, the IIP team may activate the IWS. Not all projects qualify for the IWS, but for those that do and cross-council coordination is essential, IIP assigns a dedicated IIP navigator as the single point of contact for the developer. The navigator brings together the required representatives, such as consenting, planning, Healthy Waters, Watercare, engineering, transport, funding agreements, parks and community facilities, and property, to meet with the developer regularly, with the frequency agreed based on project needs. This structured process ensures that everyone involved in approvals or delivery is working from the same information and is clearly accountable for next steps.

The IWS is a paid service for developers, reflecting the amount of coordination required. While more involved than traditional processes, it significantly reduces project risk by avoiding delays, misinterpretation of requirements, and fragmented decision making. Developers benefit from predictable sequencing, clear pathways through council systems, and a single integrated process rather than navigating multiple teams independently.

As Karen Foster, Manager Stakeholder and Planning, IIP, noted:

“Three Kings demonstrated exactly why a structured, coordinated platform like the IWS is so important. With so many interdependent activities, from land exchanges and infrastructure upgrades to cultural outcomes and public asset delivery, we needed a way to connect the right people, information, and decisions at the right time. The IWS gives us that  capability. It brings subject matter experts together, improves how complex projects are planned and communicated, and supports real time, in context decision making. It has helped keep this development moving with far greater clarity, alignment, and consistency across all workstreams.”

Three Kings revealed the need for a coordinated, cross organisational approach to large, multi-asset developments. Its scale (involving land exchanges, major earthworks, cultural considerations, infrastructure upgrades, and the delivery of multiple public assets) made it clear that traditional, siloed processes were insufficient.

Delivering the project required alignment across transport, three waters, parks, land valuation, consenting, funding, engineering, commercial agreements, legal and governance. The site itself posed unique technical challenges: raising the quarry floor, replacing century old asbestos water and wastewater pipes, and designing a comprehensive stormwater soakage system that uses historic scoria veins beneath the land. Fletcher Living’s vision of an integrated “village in the city” added expectations for high quality public spaces and coordinated design.

The IWS provided the structure needed: integrated planning before consenting, coordinated sequencing, tracked interdependencies, certainty through appropriate agreements, real time issue resolution, and a  dedicated advisor guiding the developer through council processes and systems.

Three Kings is delivering substantial housing, new public amenities, and major
infrastructure improvements, while demonstrating the value of the IWS in keeping complex projects aligned and moving at pace.

Around 300 of the planned 600 homes (including apartments, terraces, and standalone dwellings) are already complete and occupied. The finished  neighbourhoods have a calm, walkable feel supported by green spaces, views of Te Tātua a Riukiuta (Big King), and access to nearby transport and town centre services.

Public assets are a defining feature of the project. The Taurangi recreation hub includes two all-weather football fields, a nature inspired playground, and 1.5 km of walkways. Designed with input from mana whenua, Taurangi incorporates cultural artwork, native planting, references to historic maunga, and a gifted name honouring the area’s heritage. The sports fields also function as a stormwater basin, improving flood resilience while providing open space for the community.

Significant engineering work has reshaped the former quarry into land suitable for housing and recreation. The quarry floor has been raised through managed fill, and ageing water and wastewater infrastructure has been replaced. Surplus basalt rock has been crushed and reused on site, improving sustainability. 

From the developer’s perspective, the IWS has been essential but a more intense process. As James Crews, Senior Development Manager at Fletcher Living, explained:

“Three Kings is one of the more complex developments we’ve undertaken, and the IWS made a meaningful difference in navigating process with various council parties to meet programme. It’s an intensive process for a developer, as you’re engaging with a wide range of specialists more regularly than you would under traditional models, but it’s definitely productive and a service of value. The IWS allowed us to coordinate and manage council processes more effectively and gave us more confidence in resolving challenges along the way”.