A number of housing developments are sitting unfinished and seemingly abandoned, leaving some neighbours frustrated.
An air of mystery surrounds the seemingly abandoned developments, with many living nearby worrying about problems with squatters, vandalism, rain runoff and ageing materials.
So, what are some of the reasons behind the stalled developments, and are any likely to be finished or demolished in 2025?
‘Blight on the Epsom landscape’
The Epsom Central Apartments Project halted five years ago, after Auckland Council found it had not complied with building consent.
The original partnership, Epsom Central Apartments LP, was put into receivership in 2022, and purchased by Xiao Liu, the director of a company named Reeheng Limited, in September 2023.
Since then, community members and business owners have said there has been an air of mystery around what will happen to the building, which at one point was filled with rats and squatters.
Greenwoods Corner Epsom Business Association president Dominique Bonn described the multi-storey building as a “blight on the Epsom landscape”.
It was covered in graffiti and “entombed” in scaffolding.
“It’s an eyesore – certainly not something we welcome in the area. We’re very keen to see something built to conclusion, but we have no real gauge on what’s going to happen.
“It’s been a real mystery for everyone in the area.”
A council spokesperson said their understanding was Reeheng Ltd intended to remove the unconsented works and rebuild in line with the original building consent.
New Zealand’s would-be, highest residential building
Seascape tower in Auckland’s CBD was meant to be New Zealand’s highest residential building, but construction has not happened in the last couple of months.
In September, it was reported work had stalled due to a dispute between the developer and the builder.
Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, told RNZ at the time, an inspection had been carried out by Auckland Council and the building was deemed secure by structural engineers who carried out a floor by floor inspection inside and outside.
Simpson said the inspection was so detailed that each screw was checked to make sure that it could withstand being out in the open.
Minor details such as a pile of scaffolding needing to be removed were noted, Simpson said.
It could be anywhere up to a year before work would start again.
The last construction update on the Seascape website is from March 2023.
Pukekohe’s ‘lock and leave’ duplex
A number of duplexes on Pukekohe’s Valley Road had remained as just the frames of houses for at least a year, locals said.
A worker at the Valley Road Foodmarket next door, said no workers had been at the site since 2023 and she had “no idea” what was happening with the new builds.
“There’s a Barfoot and Thompson sign outside, but no details about who the agent is or who is in charge of the construction,” she said.
A listing for two of the lots available on the Barfoot and Thompson website said the unfinished homes were for sale by negotiation, with completion due in “late 2024”.
Another listing for one of the front lots on the Harcourts Flat Bush website, described it as a “brand new duplex” for “lock and leave living”.
Harcourts real estate agent Grace Wong said the property was not currently for sale and the developers who owned the site wanted to “hold onto it until they have finished their other projects”.
The Barfoot and Thompson listing agent did not respond to a request for comment.
‘An abandoned eyesore’
Over on the North Shore in the coastal suburb of Mairangi Bay, locals said they were concerned about what appeared to be an “abandoned” construction site of new build homes.
Nick Rogers, who lived near the site on Beach Road, said only the exterior shell of the houses was complete.
“The site with its considerable excavation has been an eye sore for months. No one knows what will happen to it.”
Work began on the site more than two years ago, Rogers said, and he had not seen the “handful” of workers since about July 2024.
The site was loosely fenced off and he said neighbours had noted there was “considerable rain run-off” from the site.
“There is an open window in the apartment block and debris and earth are accumulating around the garages, which are just bare concrete unroofed structures.”
A spokesperson for Archimax, an aluminium cladding supplier that was contracted to work on the development, said there was work that they still needed to do on the site, but a timeline had not been given to them by the developer telling them when it would be needed.
“We have no idea what’s going on with the site at the moment.”
Luxury townhouses and a defunct website
The George on New North Road in Kingsland was being marketed on the Harcourts website as nine luxury townhouses with construction underway.
But nearby business owners said they had “no idea” what was happening with the corner site during recent months.
A link to a website for the development, on the Harcourts listing, leads to a ‘site cannot be reached’ page.
Harcourts real estate agent Aman Gulia, said the developer, CSS Luxury Homes Ltd was still actively constructing the site, and the first three townhouses were being done first.
“It’s still going ahead and the other will be done after,” Gulia said.
“Originally apartments were planned, but when that was changed to townhouses it involved getting new resource consent, [which] slowed things down.
“The owner is busy with other townhouse developments, including one just finished in Point Chevalier at the moment.”
The companies register listed CSS Luxury Homes Ltd as being overdue in filing its annual returns, and it was stated that if this was not immediately filed the registrar would start action to remove the company from the register.
CSS Luxury Homes Ltd did not respond to a request for comment.
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