Development Team

The Auckland Urban Development Office is not a developer. Our Development Team manages the sale or lease of significant council owned land for development on behalf of Auckland Council.

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When Auckland Council decides to make land available for sale, our Development Team is responsible for bringing these opportunities to market in a way that maximises value for Aucklanders.

Our approach is commercially disciplined and market informed. Before any site is released, we undertake robust feasibility, demand, and market‑timing assessments to ensure opportunities are viable, well positioned, and aligned with prevailing market conditions.

Occasionally we purchase adjacent land properties to enable us to offer the market a larger development footprint. We test development potential, understand investor and end‑user drivers, and sequence sites strategically to achieve strong financial outcomes while enabling high‑quality development.

Alongside this commercial focus, we work closely with local boards, mana whenua, businesses, and surrounding communities to ensure development on former council land adds lasting value to its location, particularly within Auckland’s priority town centre areas. For each opportunity, we consider the long‑term wellbeing of the surrounding neighbourhood and the wider urban environment.

How We Take Sites To Market

We take sites to the open market to ensure the opportunities we have are available to all developers. The Development Team works with real estate agents to market each site and identify potential development partners to deliver a broad range of projects, from small standalone sites to large, complex brownfield redevelopments. While not every site we take to market requires a masterplan, all opportunities include clearly defined development outcomes that set expectations for quality, integration, and community benefit.

We have a responsibility to ratepayers to ensure the sale and redevelopment of council‑owned land contributes meaningfully to local communities as well as delivering sound commercial returns. For this reason, our team remains actively involved throughout the development process, supporting delivery and ensuring agreed outcomes are achieved.

Our goal is to enable commercially viable, high‑quality development that enriches neighbourhoods, improves amenity, and supports Auckland’s long‑term growth.

Every property we bring to market includes specific development outcomes, giving Council a level of control beyond Auckland Unitary Plan requirements. These outcomes are flexible enough to allow developers to bring their own vision to life while ensuring high‑quality results for the community.

They may include:

Sustainability and environmental performance expectations
Building height or density considerations
Urban design requirements
Cultural design integration
Obligations relating to partnership with mana whenua

Council supports developers through these processes to make them as seamless and practical as possible.

We work in partnership with our mana whenua partners, many of whom are accomplished developers themselves. This approach ensures mana whenua are:

Well‑informed about emerging opportunities
Encouraged and supported to participate
Invited to lead or collaborate in development projects

Their deep cultural knowledge, design leadership, and development expertise are vital in shaping a thriving, inclusive and culturally grounded future for Tāmaki Makaurau.