Increasing our parkland
27 February 2026
Following the extreme Auckland weather events in early-2023, the Government and Auckland Council agreed on storm recovery measures, including the buyout of Category 3 flood-prone properties.
At Freemans Park, 11 low-lying units (1-10/55A and 1/57A Hepburn St) that were occasionally affected by flooding are being purchased by Auckland Council.
Subject to the Body Corporate’s approval, the Council will demolish the units, update the land title to remove them, remediate the site, and investigate further flood protection measures.
While the loss of the Council-purchased row houses would be sad, the change presents a rare opportunity to expand and enhance Freemans Park’s park-like setting.
The Council is buying out 11 units in Freemans Park, which creates a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Body Corporate to increase the size of our park-like setting.
Freemans Park was originally built by Auckland Council 60 years ago, and most of its 201 units are either located in multi-level buildings, or on streets and land on an incline. However, there are a small number of units in the lowest-lying parts of our community which have experienced flooding in the worst wet weather events.
As a result of the extreme weather experienced across Auckland in early-2023, the Government and Auckland Council agreed to share the cost of storm recovery and resilience work. This will see the Council spend approximately NZ$12 million to purchase 11 Freemans Park units from their owners: 1-10/55A and 1/57A Hepburn St.
Council’s intention is to demolish the 11 units, update our development’s land title to remove the 11 units from it, and make good the land where the units once stood. The Council is also investigating what else it can proactively do to better protect Freemans Park from flooding in the future. The Council can only carry out these intentions with the express approval of the Body Corporate.
While it would be sad to see the 11 Auckland Council-owned row houses disappear, the resulting opportunity to significantly increase our park-like setting is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The Body Corporate Committee is working closely with the Council on the early stages of this project, and engaging with its key neighbours and Ngāti Whātua. The Committee is currently being supported by water engineering firm Morphum Environmental, and will also engage its heritage and landscape architects to assist, if and when required.
As the Council is still in the process of buying the final property, the Body Corporate has not yet had to make the formal decision to demolish the Council-purchased units – that will likely occur mid- year.
At this time, the Body Corporate expects the demolition and make-good works to continue throughout 2026.