Industrial park taking shape

There’s hardly a carpark to be had in the streets around Silverdale’s Highgate Business Park at the moment, as a flood of builders and tradies pile in daily to work on a raft of construction sites.

Dominating the scene is the massive 11,000sqm Infratil computer data centre on Highgate Parkway, but there are also several other buildings going up around Emirali Road and Colin Chester Drive. Highgate sales manager Jonny Reid says the first industrial super-stage of the business park is now almost fully built-out, with Mitre 10 Mega set to occupy the last site on the south side of Colin Chester Drive.

Next on the development list is master-planning for the final 15 hectare vacant block at the northern end of the park.

“That is similarly zoned Business Light Industry, but also enables office, medical and educational activities and the possibility of a small town centre to service the working population and local community,” he says.

Future developments in and around Highgate include a road bridge to go across the Northern Motorway to link the area to Milldale, and a 200-home development on the southern slopes of the site, bordering the Weiti Stream and incorporating existing bush areas.

“Finally, it is also hoped Highgate Parkway will eventually extend to join Curley Avenue – and the old Silverdale town centre – and bridge across the Weiti Stream to connect to the Hibiscus Coast Highway and East Coast Road intersection.”