The community of Red Hill, Papakura in Auckland’s south is celebrating the recent addition of two half basketball courts at Keri Downs Park.
The courts form part of a major redevelopment of the suburban site — for which the Papakura Local Board adopted a concept plan back in 2019 — and saw the removal of the existing skate bowl, which had been identified as being under-utilised by the local community.
Situated on Dominion Road, Keri Downs Park was incorporated in 1976 and covers an area of approximately 7.5 hectares and features large areas of open space for passive recreation, as well as a rugby field with changing block, a BMX track — which is in the process of being upgraded — and now, the basketball courts.
Renewing the social infrastructure of South Auckland
The project scope included the two courts, upgraded amenities including a new drinking fountain and additional seating and picnic tables, along with further planting to provide natural shade and more accessible connections to existing pathways.
Auckland Council approached Citycare Property to deliver the project within a timeframe of six weeks. However, the wettest July on record ended up pushing that out to nine weeks, says Citycare Property Construction Manager, Graham Forrester
“The biggest challenge we faced on this project was the weather, it really worked against us. We had rain almost every single day that we were on site and with the required earthworks all the muddy conditions really hampered us and slowed us down tremendously. Unfortunately, because of the inclement weather and the heavy rainfall, the programme did extend out to nine weeks, but we did achieve what we had originally set out to, and the council is very happy with the outcome.”
More than just parks maintenance
The first task the building construction team had to tackle was the demolition of the existing skate bowl, which was a concrete structure of 10 metres by six metres by two metres deep. Once the skate bowl was removed, the topography of the site had to be reworked to accommodate the basketball court and the upgraded amenities.
The under-utilised skate bowl has been replaced by two half courts and additional seating, with improved access to existing pathways.
The earthworks for this resulted in about 400m3 of soil being removed. The team was able to reuse around half of it onsite after the skate bowl was filled in, while the remainder was used to develop play areas at other parks.
While it had to be postponed three times, the concrete pour of the basketball court base eventually went off without a hitch before specialist coatings — in a vibrant colour palette — were applied to complete the project.
“Visible from the street, it is hoped that the new courts will not only provide an attractive space for the local community but will also meet the increasing demand of a growing population for recreational open spaces,” says Local Board Chair, Brent Catchpole.