There’s a special kind of synergy that happens when design, sustainability and community intersect. For visionary property developer Patrick Fontein, his new Mangawhai Hills development is the rare kind of project that encompasses all three.
Fontein has spent the last decade researching how the best master-planned, future-led communities work — and how their lessons could shape a self-sustaining, regenerative community here in New Zealand. “Across the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia, I’ve studied neighbourhoods where infrastructure, ecology and design work seamlessly together,” Fontein says. “We’ve brought that integration home, in a way that reflects New Zealand’s landscape and values.”
Situated just over an hour out of Auckland’s CBD and sprawled across a breathtaking 185 hectares of natural landscape, Mangawhai Hills presents a new blueprint for how New Zealanders can live well.
From day one, every element of this new residential community has been shaped to work with time, not against it. The site has been master-planned with urban-design-led precision, ensuring each home, street and green space connects seamlessly with the land around it.
Far from another set-and-forget coastal property development, Mangawhai Hills has been conceived with purpose. From day one, every element of this new residential community has been shaped to work with time, not against it. The site has been master-planned with urban-design-led precision, ensuring each home, street and green space connects seamlessly with the land around it — environmentally, architecturally and socially.
Stage One sections, ranging from 1,100 – 1,800 square metres, have just been released to the public for the first time – large, solar-ready sites immersed in native bush and rewilded wetlands, connected by over 15 kilometres of walking and cycling trails. Around half the site is devoted to native restoration and open space, ensuring the landscape remains the heart of the community.
Far from another set-and-forget coastal property development, Mangawhai Hills has been conceived with purpose and upheld with integrity. Here, every home, street and green space has been designed to work cohesively — environmentally, architecturally and socially.
To ensure the landscape is honoured from start to finish, design guidelines ensure a timeless coastal aesthetic that marries with the environment — homes that sit within the land, not on top of it. A simple design-review process safeguards character, consistency and long-term value. The result is a neighbourhood that will feel curated, considered and deeply connected to place. “Good design isn’t just what you see – it’s how a place works decades from now,” Fontein says. “Every decision here is made with that horizon in mind.”
Mangawhai Hills stands as a mission-driven initiative that goes far beyond strictly residential. Think of a future where design and ecology not only comfortably coexist but future-proof for the generations to follow.
Fontein and his team are pursuing an ambitious goal for the community: full independence across five essential systems—water, wastewater, energy, carbon, and stormwater. Each has been proven internationally, but their integration and adaptation for New Zealand conditions make Mangawhai Hills a genuine first in this country.
From launch, each site is connected to on-site water, wastewater, and solar networks, allowing the community to operate with minimal external impact — and with the confidence that resilience is hard-wired into its infrastructure.
What surrounds Mangawhai Hills is every bit as appealing as what lies within. Just 95 kilometres north of Auckland, Mangawhai has become one of Northland’s most dynamic lifestyle destinations — celebrated for its beaches, golf, boutique eateries, vineyards, wellness offerings, outdoor pursuits, and creative energy.
“Mangawhai is close enough to stay connected to Auckland, but far enough away to truly switch off and feel the land around you,” Fontein says. “That balance – between access and space, community and coast – is what makes it special.”
With limited Stage One sections now available to purchase, ranging from 1,100 to 1,800 square metres, with house-and-land options also offered, Mangawhai Hills invites you to be part of a community shaped by design, grounded in nature, and built to last.
