Sylvia Park would be the home to a number of units including a RNZAOC Vehicle Depot, a RNZEME Field Workshop and a RNZAMC Field Hospital. By 1992 the site had outlived it usefulness as a military installation and the New Zealand government sold the Sylvia Park site for $7 million. The buildings, which gradually became empty, were demolished for the shopping mall. Development The development is owned by Sylvia Park Business Centre Ltd (SPBCL), a subsidiary of Kiwi Property Group. The development is situated on 24 hectares of land, a large part of which is still to be developed as of the late 2000s. Kiwi Property acquired the land in two transactions in 1995. However, the land was at that stage zoned for industrial use by the Auckland City Council. The developers asked the council to modify the District Plan to allow high-density commercial use, a change which the council supported, and drafted into "Plan Change 4". However, the plan change was opposed by the Ngati Maru Iwi authority, which represents Māori interests in the area. A December 2001 decision of the Environment Court of New Zealand confirmed the plan change. Demolition and construction began in 2004, with retail construction beginning in 2005. Opening issues Stage One of the development opened to the public on 6 June 2006. The opening received nationwide television and radio coverage the day before, as the development is one of the largest in New Zealand. This resulted in a very high shopper turnout on the opening day, and despite planning by SPBCL, caused severe gridlock on the notoriously busy Auckland Southern Motorway as well as major arterial routes in the vicinity of the centre, including the South-Eastern and Mount Wellington Highways. Transit New Zealand and SPBCL took the unusual step of recommending people postpone trips to the mall. As part of the conditions of being granted planning permission SPBCL was required to manage traffic flows to the site, and had the traffic jams continued would have faced an accelerated timetable for upgrading key roads. The congestion did force SPBCL to implement a traffic monitoring programme ahead of schedule. Stage Two of the development opened in August 2006 and expanded the fashion, beauty and food retailers of the centre. In contrast to the initial interest, weekday retail sales were soon considered to be flagging, with the centre being nicknamed 'Spooky Park' by some. The owners noted