Tauranga land development and construction company is emerging as one of the Bay of Plenty’s superior property development forces by sticking to its forte – taking rough and unappealing pieces of land and turning them into communities with street appeal and all the features Kiwis look for in a lifestyle and lifetime investment.
Abron Group is involved in land development and residential housing from the ground up, stepping in to projects at any stage from sourcing land, to working with surveyors and engineers, right the way through to final development, titles, and construction.
“We not only build homes, we build communities and this helps our clients because we save them money,” says Abron Group managing director Howard Scott.
“By being involved right at the start of the planning process, we add value, insights, and costsaving design features to our clients’ investments,” Howard says.”
Norfolk Rise is a 36-lot subdivision currently under development five minutes from Tauranga’s city centre by Abron Group and Lighthouse Group, another locally-owned property development company owned by the Pendergast family.
The two companies have partnered on various local development projects, with Lighthouse Group bringing financial expertise and sourcing funding while Abron Group provides management of the whole project.
“When we bought it three years ago, Norfolk Rise was a pretty ugly piece of land,” Howard says.
“It’s in a great location, between Brookfield and Bethlehem, 3.7ha of land with an existing house on it,” he says.
“The previous owner was running horses on it and loved it, but she was getting crowded out with surrounding residential development and her rates were getting higher.”
A considerable amount of earthworks were required during 2015, including subsoil drainage because of the natural springs on the property, and a lot of retaining to terrace flat building platforms down the hill. Civil construction was then carried out in 2016 and 2017, then house construction began at the start of this year.
Eighteen dwellings have now been completed in stage one with another four starting, then it’s on to the earthworks for stage two. Howard says it takes a lot of engineering to do what Abron Group does.
Eighteen dwellings have been completed in stage 1 of the Norfolk Rise development with another four starting. Then it’s on to the earthworks for stage two.
The company works principally with category one engineer CMW Geosciences and engineers and surveyors Lysaght Consultants for planning, then it’s our own civil department of eight staff who carry out the earthworks and civil construction.
The housing is then completed by Abron Group’s housing department, which includes a draftsman, project managers, and subcontracted builders.
“A lot of work goes into it, but it’s worth i t,” he says. “We enjoy the challenge of taking an ugly piece of land and turning it into something that’s useful to the city. Instead of just sitting there, running horses, and looking ugly, it’s now an improvement to the surrounding residential landscape.”
While most of Norfolk Rise, stage one was sold 18 months ago off the plans, Howard says that the market has since changed and buyers are now wanting to see the product completed before committing.
Sales projections from three years ago of early $400,000’s were exceeded 18 months ago with homes now selling for mid- to high $500,000s. Some Norfolk Rise properties are now selling for more than $600,000.
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Director Howard Scott with marketing and administration manager Abbie Raleigh and operations manager Cam Scott.
