Source: stuff.co.nz  08:52 28/11/2011

Seventeen new seaside homes will be up for sale early next year on one of central New Plymouth's most desirable blocks of land.

After years of sitting vacant, the 7862-square-metre Morley St block, formerly the Henry Brown timber yard, opposite the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre and Coastal Walkway, will be the site of a multimillion-dollar development.

Contractors moved in last week to start turning soil at the site.

Owners Morley 400 Ltd have contracted residential construction franchise Generation Homes to complete the project.

Generation Homes Taranaki partner David Barker said the 17 townhouses were expected to be finished by March or April 2012.

"This is an exciting land development close to downtown New Plymouth and it will transform the vacant land from an empty eyesore to a vibrant neighbourhood," Mr Barker said.

The sections would be marketed as individual house and land packages in a range of sizes and price brackets but most would be around the 400sqm mark, he said.

"We see it very much as a community thing so we're making sure the look of it is right."

The company wanted to let the public know about the project as soon as work got underway because there had been so much interest in the vacant lot, he said.

"That site has been an absolute horror for years so we wanted to let people know as soon as possible."

The site has sat empty since Waikato company Sarvee Acquisitions Ltd bought it in 2004.

In 2008, after Sarvee was placed in receivership, the land was purchased through mortgagee sale by Morley 400 Ltd, which has Taranaki residents Wei Fu, Zhongyi Yao and Yong Zhou as the listed directors.

Mr Baker would not put a figure on how much the development would cost but said it was "a multimillion-dollar project".

The houses would attract a range of buyers from young families to retired and elderly couples, he said.

"It's such an attractive area that all sorts of people will be attracted."

Demand was expected to be high for the 17 houses and if anyone was wanting to get an idea of what the homes would look like they could visit Generation Homes show home on Wills Rd, Bell Block, he said.