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New Zealand Superyacht Facilities to Expand with Yard 37 Development
New Zealand is often regarded as home to some of the leading experts in superyacht construction. Plans from Auckland based Yard 37 are underway to expand the construction potential of the breath-taking region.
Yard 37 has created the ultimate hub for superyacht construction, refit and renovation in the “dual-harboured playground of Auckland”, offering a facility with size and open availability of land. Plans are now underway to expand the hub, located in Hobsonville.
The development plans have been undertaken with Waitakere Properties who, with Yard 37, are in talks to carry out harbour dredging and land development activities in May and June to see a massive increase in space for marine sheds.
CEO of Waitakere Properties, Greg Parker, is offering an opportunity for yacht builders to invest in the ideal surroundings of Yard 37, stating “As we get further down the consenting path we'll be seeking to move from people saying 'yes we think this is good' to 'yes we'd like to buy it'”.
Yard 37 has also managed to secure a $2 million grant from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in an interest to boost the marine infrastructure. The development is promising to do just that, with 84,000 m2 of marine sheds to be built with state of the art facilities capable of housing superyachts of up to 90m in length. Development can only begin once freehold titles to the land where the sheds are to be built is sold. However, it has already had “serious expressions of interest”.
Greg Parker stated: "What we are finding is that the boat builders might not be the people who own the sheds - it might be a professional investor."
The yard boasts an environment purpose built for specialist superyacht manufacture and refit. The facility holds communal areas of development housing, common yard space and ship lifts to be shared between the title holders in a corporate-type arrangement.
Yard 37 have begun an interesting push to further New Zealand’s industry standing, stating “This is a rare opportunity to become part of this world class facility”.