Seascape Developments Limited and the Whakatāne District Council have announced that the marketing of sections in a proposed Port Ōhope residential subdivision will begin on 20 December.

The development planned for 325-345 Harbour Road will target the high-quality residential market and features generous section sizes, high landscape amenity values and easy access to ‘New Zealand’s best beach’, recreational reserve areas and the nearby Port Ōhope boating facilities.

Mayor Tony Bonne has welcomed the initiative. “This Council is solidly behind economic development in the Whakatāne District, and it’s great to see our focus on growth beginning to bear fruit. Together with the feasibility process currently underway for an integrated retirement village, residential subdivision and marine precinct at Bunyan Road, we have some exciting prospects to look forward to,” he says.

The proposed development results from a conditional agreement to sell the Harbour Fund-owned land, which was negotiated in July between the Council and Seascape Developments. Seascape Developments is a syndicate led by John McColl, a Tauranga-based developer. Mr McColl is well-known locally from his previous involvements in the Beachpoint Apartment, Horizon Apartment and Quayside Apartment developments. Subject to a successful marketing campaign over the coming holiday period, Seascape Developments expects the sale agreement to become unconditional in February 2014.

Mr Bonne says the Council signalled its desire to divest the land through the 2012-22 Long Term Plan, both to manage its debt profile and stimulate residential development. “The proposed development complies with the Port Ōhope Structure Plan, which was developed with significant input from the Ōhope community, and is likely to be a catalyst for the future redevelopment of the Port Ōhope Wharf and the area’s recreational resources.”