Green Light For Sylvia Park Town Centre

NZX & MEDIA RELEASE

29 September 2004

Green Light For Sylvia Park Town Centre Development

Kiwi Income Property Trust announced today that it has received resource consent from Auckland City Council (ACC) for the first $300 million retail stage of its Sylvia Park town centre development, and that it will begin demolition and site preparation works immediately. The Trust will invest $30 million in infrastructure and earthworks to prepare the site for development.

Construction work on the 24 hectare site in Mt Wellington in the centre of the Auckland isthmus is scheduled to begin around March next year, with the staged development planned to encompass a mix of integrated retail, office, entertainment, educational, residential and community uses.

Chief Executive of the Manager of the Trust, Angus McNaughton, said the project had been subject to intensive planning over a period of five years and it is pleasing to see work begin on schedule.

"The activity on the site will be further confirmation to prospective tenants, customers and Aucklanders generally that the project is on track and that the Trust is committed to creating an enduring, world-class development based on environmentally sensitive and sustainable design principles."

The now vacant storage sheds originally erected on the site in 1943 by the US Armed Forces will be demolished, with timber and other materials being salvaged or recycled where possible.

Mr McNaughton said strict processes were in place to ensure all works on the site are carried out safely and in accordance with the resource consents, building consents and engineering approvals to be issued by ACC and Auckland Regional Council.

He said particular care would be taken in the demolition process with the handling of deleterious material, including low-risk asbestos-based roof and wall sheet materials. Removal of these will be subject to tightly controlled regimes and OSH regulations, and in accordance with a plan agreed with the ACC's environmental health officer.

"Similarly strict controls will be applied to the process of replacing low levels of shallow ground contamination with clean material. Monitoring, sampling and testing of the air and ground will be undertaken before, during and after these operations."

Enabling works on the site will comprise earthworks, including building platforms, road kerbs and bases, main stormwater and sewer pipework and site services.

Given the scale of the project, the Trust is considering various funding options, including the introduction of a joint venture partner. Mr McNaughton said discussions were continuing with a number of potential partners.

ENDS

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