Napier’s new suburb Mission Hills: First roads near completion for 800-home project

Napier’s new suburb, Mission Hills, is taking shape, with the first roads ready to be tar-sealed and completed later this month.

Over 800 homes will be built in the new suburb during the next decade.

A consortium is behind the enormous project on a 207ha piece of land on the outskirts of Napier, situated upon rolling hills behind Mission Estate Winery.

The first homes will begin to be erected in August once titles for the first 55 residential properties (Stage 1A) are issued.

Mission Hills head of sales Vanessa Thompson said the first roads connecting Stage 1A would be tar-sealed later this month, including the main entrance into the suburb off Puketitiri Rd.

Thompson said the “leafy” main entrance would be named Mission Hills Avenue and feature a line of native trees.

At the end of the avenue will be the suburb’s yet-to-be-built shopping area. That will boast a “boutique supermarket” and eateries such as a cafe and tapas bar, a fish-and-chip shop and a pizzeria.

The supermarket will not be a Pak’nSave, Woolworths or New World.

A playground and reserve will also be built behind the retail area and a bridle track – for horse riding and walking – will weave around the entire suburb.

Thompson did not say exactly how many titles had sold to date, but said there were properties still available for the first two subdivisions to hit the market – Stage 1A and 1B.

“We are comfortable with the level of sales to date, and expect momentum to increase now that the subdivision is more readily accessible and Stage 1A nears completion.”

Most properties are greenfield sites, meaning buyers pay for the land then build their own homes.

Between 80 and 100 workers are on-site every day. Earthworks are being done by Gairs (also known as Goodman) and civil construction is being done by Hick Bros.

A new roundabout is also currently being built on Puketitiri Rd, through contractor Hick, which connects to the main entrance of the suburb.

Asphalting is expected to be completed on the roundabout by March 22, which will mean the temporary traffic lights can be removed.

A second entrance will be built further along Puketitiri Rd in a couple of years’ time closer to Poraiti Rd.

The consortium behind the project includes the Hawke’s Bay-based Wallace Development Company, the Gillespie family, Tauranga-based Carrus Group, and Higgins Family Holdings Limited, based in Palmerston North. The consortium is known as Emerald Hills Joint Venture.

Thomspon said given the location of the development, overlooking the city, it will be “resilient to natural disasters such as flooding or tsunami”.

She said it also protected productive growing land such as the Heretaunga Plains and “provides a timely solution for Napier City to expand into”.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.