In classic Betty-come-lately fashion, the Government has finally clocked what every investor with a pulse has known for years: If you are going to spend $5 billion on a shiny new train line, then maybe, just maybe, you should enable people actually to live near it.
And if the Ministers’ latest announcement is anything to go by, it’s Bye Bye half measures and HELLO big, tall, shiny 15-storey buildings around City Rail Link (CRL) stations. And if you own land in these areas, you’d best hold on, ‘cos it is going to be wild.
🚀 What’s Changing?
Auckland Council will soon be required to allow much taller buildings (up to 15 storeys) to be built around five key CRL stations:
| Station | Minimum Building Height Required |
|---|---|
| Maungawhau (Mt Eden) | 15 storeys |
| Kingsland | 15 storeys |
| Morningside | 15 storeys |
| Mt Albert | 10 storeys |
| Baldwin Avenue | 10 storeys |
Council must notify the new plan by 10 October 2025.
🤔 What This Really Means
For years, Auckland’s leadership talked a big game about it being a transport-led city, but dragged its heels when the rubber hit the ground. We’ve built the train lines but left the value locked in the ground. This ends now. Intensifying around CRL stations is a deliberate reset of who gest to benefit from this $5 billion bet on the city’s future. Infrastructure doesn’t build wealth. Zoning does. Who ever owns a piece of dirt that can go vertical wins.
What’s different now is the scale. Upzoning to 15 stories is serious stuff. We are no longer play-playing with townhouses. And this radical reimagination...
