New Zealand's tallest skyscraper will be built in Auckland's CBD in 2015, Mayor Len Brown announced today.
Construction of the $350 million Auckland Centre has been given the green light by planning commissioners.
The 209m, 52-level skyscraper will comprise a hotel and entertainment complex, residential apartments, shopping centre, restaurants, cinema and sky decks.
It will be built by Chinese developer New Development Group (NDG) at a long-standing vacant lot on the corner of Elliot and Victoria Sts, with an expected completion date of 2020.
Len Brown says it is an exciting time for Auckland.
"This will be a world class development for Auckland that will create hundreds of new jobs, energise the CBD and boost Auckland’s GDP, through a more than $350 million investment by NDG."
The building is on the proposed City Rail Link route, which Mr Brown says is creating "major commercial opportunities".
"To date the private sector has confirmed more than a billion dollars of new investments along the proposed route, including Precinct Properties' downtown retail and office development."
At the base of the slender high rise there will be an eight-level retail centre and below ground there will be six levels of car parking.
Auckland Council Design Champion Ludo Campbell-Reid says the mixed-use building will breathe new life into Auckland's mid-city.
"We are seeing disused sites becoming viable again and design that references a revived city centre where people are considered first and foremost."
The corner site has been used as a car park since the 1980s after the Royal International Hotel was demolished.
The Auckland Centre will still be dwarfed by the 328m Sky Tower nearby. The latter is not considered a building because the majority of its height does not contain usable floor space.
New Zealand’s tallest structures will be:
- Sky Tower: 328 metres
- NDG Auckland Centre: 209 metres
- Vero Centre: 172 metres
- Metropolis: 155 metres
3 News
source: newshub archive
