Auckland University

Hi all

just read this story thought it may interest some of you who are considering the Auckland Property market. Personally i don’t own there and don’t really know this market very well. Perhaps there is some potential here? Muppet knows this market better than me. What are your thoughts here Muppet ?

NZ uni plans tech parkAuckland City Council and Auckland University have launched an ambitious plan to create 10,000 high-paid, high-tech jobs around the university’s Tamaki campus, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The council’s implementation planning manager, Ian Maxwell, told a seminar at Tamaki on Friday that the redevelopment was aimed at transforming the fairly rundown industrial area between the old Mt Wellington quarry and the Glen Innes shops into New Zealand’s answer to Singapore, or to Britain’s Cambridge science park.

“Our vision is 10,000 jobs – five times the number that exist now,” he said.

“We have looked at Singapore, parts of Australia and Europe and that sort of figure is not out of the way.

“We are looking at knowledge workers.

“They can choose Cambridge or Brisbane or San Francisco or wherever, so we have to make this development something special.

“We are talking about an integrated development right across the Tamaki area.”

Planners propose three separate zones in the area:

* The 32ha Tamaki university campus itself, which includes space at the southern end on Morrin Rd for public and private sector partners with close links to university researchers.

* A 10ha “technology park”, also on the western side of Morrin Rd just south of the university campus, which may be bought by the council so that it can be leased only to firms that fit into the campus’ six research themes.

* A much larger area of about 100ha comprising the existing industrial zone between the quarry and the Panmure railway where business development will be unrestricted apart from possible requirements for higher “amenity” to attract “knowledge workers”.

Campus head Professor Ralph Cooney said the six campus themes spanned health, sports and community; information and communications technology and electronics; information management; food and biotechnology; environment, energy and resources; and materials and manufacturing.

He said the university had agreed to build five new buildings of 20,000 sq m each for companies in areas related to these themes, such as health computing firms, resource management companies and high-tech businesses generally.

“I am now in negotiation with 20 organisations to locate here,” he said.

“Right now our situation is not a lack of interest. It’s a lack of capacity to respond to demand.”

Mr Maxwell said the city council was about to appoint a Development Enterprise Board to buy land in areas such as the proposed Morrin Rd technology park and lease it to appropriate businesses.

“The aim of being able to vet firms locating in the innovation precinct, so that they can contribute to links with the university and the downstream commercial research, is important,” he said. “It means picking winners.”

regards westan

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