Construction racing ahead

Significant progress has been made at the Hampton Downs Motorsport Complex near Meremere, helped by dry conditions through summer and autumn.

All four blocks with a total of 80 apartments  all sold  are now basically built, with just final finishing to be carried out.

One apartment is now fully furnished to give owners an idea of what they can expect their apartment to look like.

With two double bedrooms, a bathroom/toilet, a compact washing/ironing unit, a kitchen/entertainment area and a dining/lounge area, the apartments have a surprising amount of room inside and a fantastic view from the deck out over the circuit  especially now that the hilly areas on the inside of the circuit have been flattened.

``The apartment units will be ideal for enthusiasts who want to watch events in comfort, but will also be available as motel units for those owners who want to use them in this way  especially once the whole motorsport village is built,'' says managing director of Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, Tony Roberts.
Virtually the whole of the retail village area has been sold with plans for various ethnic restaurants, a hot-bread shop, a tavern and other such shops under way.

``Really, what we are planning is a whole village community, virtually self-contained, which fits in well with the Waikato and Franklin District plan of such communities in amongst the green fields and farmland of the Waikato area.

``We will have our own sophisticated plant for treating sewerage on site, with its own filtration system,'' says Mr Roberts.

Hampton Downs has also recently acquired the Britomart Pavilion from downtown Auckland, which was used for displays, small concerts and various functions. It will be installed on the grassed area adjacent to the pit buildings where it will have a similar use during the year as a function centre for such things as weddings, new car releases and then as the media centre for major motorsport meetings.
Good progress has also been made on the track itself, the long period of good weather enabling it to be shaped and consolidated. In the surrounding area of the Motorsport Park, just one lifestyle block is still available for sale and a few business park lots.

``It is pleasing to see it all starting to come together after such a lot of hard work in the preparation. Even more pleasing is that a motorsport park can show how a modern `green' village can be built  especially once the 20,000 trees we are planting begin to grow,'' says director Chris Watson.

- © Fairfax NZ News