Auckland Surf Parks Expands to Include Residential Community

Press Release from Aventuur:

The eagerly anticipated Auckland Surf Park is adding new community amenities.

AW Holdings, a joint venture between international surf park developer and operator Aventuur and a group of New Zealand project partners including Sir John Kirwan and Mark Francis, today confirmed that they have been referred under the New Zealand Government’s new Fast Track Approvals Act (FTAA) to add additional components to the masterplanned community, including a town centre, residential homes, and a surfing members’ clubhouse.

Located at 1350 Dairy Flat Highway, the Auckland Surf Park will deliver a globally unique, sustainable surfing community for Dairy Flat, providing quality sport, recreation, hospitality and tourism amenities that celebrate Aotearoa, its surfing heritage and culture, and the region’s rural character.

At the heart of the community is a 56-module Wavegarden “Cove” lagoon, offering unparalleled surfing and wellbeing experiences for everyone in a safe, controlled environment, incorporating the latest design features from Wavegarden including new sideshores. The surf park will also feature high performance sports and leisure facilities, eco-cabins and lodging accommodation, restaurants and public outdoor amenities including walking and cycling trails.

With a significant focus on sustainability, the surf park will be complemented by a co-located solar farm and a Spark data centre campus. Notably, excess heat from the Spark data centre campus (planned to be powered by electricity linked to new renewable generation, including from the on-site solar farm) will be harnessed to warm the surfing lagoon year-round – a world-first. Other initiatives include regenerating an existing stream, naturescaping using only native flora, harvesting rainwater from community buildings, composting organic waste on site, eliminating single use plastics, and procuring local materials and products where possible.

With resource consent already received for the surf park, data centre and solar farm, the project’s backers are seeking to expand the community to include a town centre and around 500 residences, providing the opportunity for residents to enjoy guaranteed perfect waves and quality health, wellness and hospitality amenities in their backyard. The masterplan includes a range of residential offerings (apartments, terrace houses, duplexes and larger lots) that will appeal to a broad range of buyers. The application also proposes the addition of a surfing members’ clubhouse with connectivity to the surf park and eco-cabin lodging.

Anticipated to create 11,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions during construction and into operations, the Auckland Surf Park community is expected to generate an estimated $1.64 billion in regional economic impact over the first 6 years of the project’s life.

“The positive interest and local support we’ve received for the Auckland Surf Park has been overwhelming,” said Sir John Kirwan. “Through engaging with neighbouring landowners, Aucklanders and New Zealand surfers, we’ve learned that there’s a lot of people out there who would love to not only be a member of the surf park, but to live there, and help us shape a unique, authentic community while maintaining a local, rural feel.

“It’s been heartening to see the Auckland Surf Park viewed as both a regionally significant project and a globally unique benchmark. I personally believe the Auckland Surf Park and its surrounding community will be the best offering of its kind in the world.”

Kirwan said that the additional land to support the community’s expansion was acquired from several adjoining landowners, who approached the group after the project first secured resource consent in June 2024.

Late last year, whānau members of Ngāti Whātua and Ngāti Manuhiri, who hold guardianship rights over the local land and sea, performed karakia (ancient Māori incantations used to connect with the spiritual world and ancestors) to seek protection for people working on the land during construction, and for all those who visit the Auckland Surf Park community in the future. Shortly after, preliminary earthworks began on schedule, and are well underway on site.

“I felt very emotional at the karakia,” Kirwan said. “To reach that milestone required a huge amount of hard work from some very talented people, and we’re seeing the results of the high enthusiasm for the project.”

“This enthusiasm was on show in early May, when we hosted a community day on site. We welcomed over 600 supportive locals, Auckland residents and surfers, and were delighted to have local MP Mark Mitchell, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, and Rodney Board Local Member Louise Johnston join us,” added Kirwan.

“We believe this expanded project can be the impetus for the positive growth and vibrancy that the Dairy Flat community has been wanting for a long time. It will redefine the area.”

The proposal to add new amenities to the Auckland Surf Park was welcomed by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the community.

“I believe the Auckland Surf Park Community is a unique proposition of significant scale, offering considerable benefits to both the region of Auckland and the wider New Zealand population,” said the Mayor, a former Chair of Surfing New Zealand and passionate waterman.

“I am encouraged by the commitment to create a globally unique surf park community with a rural feel. I see this project contributing to help solve Auckland’s housing challenges, provide a town centre for the people of Dairy Flat, and creating a new ‘digital hub’. All of these will, in turn, also drive economic growth.”

“I am of the belief that active-minded Aucklanders will desire to live within or near the surf park, and am encouraged by Sir John Kirwan’s involvement and his personal commitment to have the facility contribute to the mental wellbeing of the community,” Mayor Brown added.

The Auckland Surf Park has been backed by a range of national and local organisations who believe in its potential to enrich the lives of Aucklanders and visitors to New Zealand, including professional surfing athletes, representative sporting and tourism bodies, water safety and disability organisations and government agencies.

New Zealand’s most successful professional surfer, Paige Hareb, also welcomed the expansion of the surf park project.

“I have been fortunate to surf in several Wavegardens now, and I’ve often thought how great it would be to create a residential community around a Cove,” she said.

“I grew up in the rural surf town of Oakura Beach in Taranaki, which has a strong sense of community. There is a unique opportunity to replicate this in Auckland, especially given Dairy Flat is conveniently located between the East and West Coasts, providing the perfect jumping off point for surfers.”

“It might even be enough to tempt me to move to Auckland,” she joked.

Subject to further regulatory approvals being received, construction of the surf park is expected to commence in late 2025, ahead of opening to the public in late 2027.