NZ Herald
Property acquisitions for the Auckland City Rail Link are well underway. Public Works Act specialist lawyer Adina Thorn comments on valuation differences and the difficulty commercial property owners are facing finding suitable and comparable business premises.
Auckland Transport says link needed to keep fast-growing city moving while councillor questions spending and business owners and lawyers express concern at prices being offered.
Properties worth $35 million have been bought to secure the route for Auckland’s proposed $2.86 billion City Rail Link.
Although it would not list them, Auckland Transport told the Herald it had bought 27 of 73 above-ground properties it needs to create entranceways to proposed underground stations and train lines along the 3.4km route from Britomart to Mt Eden. It also needs land for its major construction yard at Eden Terrace.
The Auckland Council-owned authority said the most expensive property it had bought was an empty site near Mt Eden Prison for just over $6 million.