A hīkoi around the developments in the city centre
A detailed look at the progress of developments and projects under construction in the beating heart of Tāmaki Makaurau.
As a city centre resident in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, I have witnessed the progress of developments and projects currently under construction in the city during my many hīkoi (walk) around the neighbourhood. In this article, We’ll have a detailed look at the progress of these projects.
We’ll start at Wynyard Quarter, where we’ll look at the progress of two mid-sized office buildings currently under construction. We’ll start at Wynyard Quarter, where we’ll look at the progress of two mid-sized office buildings currently under construction. We'll start with Wynyard Quayside: a mixed-use development consisting of a series of 4 - 8 story buildings currently under construction on Halsey and Pakenham St, to be home to offices and retail. The development also will be connected by laneways created to create new pedestrian links.
At this stage, the tallest buildings to make up the development are close to topping out with the top floors being added onto the development and the cladding currently being added to the building facing Halsey St. The development is expected to be completed in 2025 with most of the offices fully leased, with Beca to be one of the major tenants of the complex.
On Gaunt St, bordered by Beaumont and Daldy St is a mid-rise office development consisting of two buildings (a 7-storey and 8-storey building) by commercial developer Mansons. The buildings are at different stages with the building facing the corner of Daldy and Gaunt St currently at the 4th floor and the building facing the corner of Beaumount and Daldy St at the 6th floor.
We’ll now go to Albert St, where two major developments are getting closer to completion. We’ll start with 50 Albert St: a 12-storey commercial development that will become the new headquarters of Spark, retail and a new laneway connection between Albert St and Mills Lane. The development has recently had a milestone with the completion of the cladding installed on the building's exterior. The crane at the site has recently been dismantled. The development is expected to be completed in 2025.
Across the road at 51 Albert St, to become home to the 225-room Indigo hotel and 30 apartments to the upper floors of the 41-storey development, which is currently undergoing interior fitting out. Recently, two historic facades that date back to 1912 on Albert St and Saint Patricks Square that have been preserved and restored as part of the development have been revealed and are looking good, delivering a good example of the use of facadism in developments. The development is expected to be completed later this year.
We’ll now have a look around the progress of the streetscape works surrounding Te Waihorotiu Station with footpath extensions and road narrowing on Kingston St is getting closer to completion, which also includes the installation of tree pits to eventually be home to 3 tarairi trees. Footpath extensions on Albert St between Victoria and Wellesley St are taking shape with footpaths opened on the Victoria St end.
We’ll now take a look at the block bordered by Hobson, Nelson, Victoria and Wellesley St, which is home to Skycity’s Horizon Hotel and the New Zealand International Convention Centre. The Horizon Hotel opened in March and a pedestrian link between Hobson and Nelson St between the hotel and convention centre opened last month. The convention centre is getting closer to completion date in 2025.
Wealong Wellesley St, to have a look at the Wellesley St entrance of Te Waihorotiu Station, where the sky element facade on the superstructure is starting to be unwrapped, with the eastern wall of the superstructure has recently being revealed and is looking great.
We go through Aotea Square and across Queen St to the new student accommodation complex under construction on Lorne St, which will be known as Campbell House. The complex will deliver 758 apartments for AUT students and is expected to be completed in October 2025. The development also will see a heritage facade built in 1929 on the corner of Lorne and Rutland St preserved and incorporated into the development.
We now go through Albert Park, along Princes St to conclude at Seascape on Customs St. The development has recently topped out at 187m and will become the tallest residential building in Aotearoa, when completed. The development will have 221 apartments including 15 penthouses, which will have stunning views of Te Waitematā and around Tāmaki Makaurau.
