City luxury apartment development fit for a King and Queen
"The West End Precinct revival has been sensationally successful for New Plymouth's central shopping area and had cemented the west end as the cultural, arts and hospitality hub of the city."
King and Queen Hotel Suites general manager Daniel Fleming
A major accommodation expansion featuring serviced apartments and spa treatments is planned for New Plymouth’s inner city business district.
Resource consent for the West End Precinct development will be lodged with New Plymouth District Council this week and will include luxury apartments, retail, hospitality and car parking.
The multi-million dollar expansion will double the number of rooms at the King and Queen Hotel Suites, opposite the Len Lye Centre, from 30 rooms to a total of 60, hotel general manager Daniel Fleming said.
The hotel, situated in the White Hart building close to the original site of New Plymouth’s commercial area first established 130 years ago, has been at the heart of the regeneration in the area over the past seven years.
It’s proximity to the Len Lye Centre, Govett Brewster Art Gallery and the TSB Showplace attracted thousands of tourists each year.
The council’s Tapuae Roa: Make Way for Taranaki Strategy 2017 earmarked tourism and lifestyle as two of its primary objectives for the region.
‘‘The West End Precinct revival has been sensationally successful for New Plymouth’s central shopping area and had cemented the west end as the cultural, arts and hospitality hub of the city,’’ Fleming said.
Project developers say the expansion will have a ripple effect on the rest of the inner city needing re-planning and redevelopment.
‘‘Every community requires a strong commercial heart and it is the developer’s intention to further strengthen and grow the core activities of the West End Precinct for the benefit of the community,’’ Fleming said.
The development would create a ‘model’ central business district with retail, dining, green spaces, recreational amenity, parking and inner city living, he said.
‘‘We are determined to help make this happen to create a high standard of liveability’’, he said.
The development expansion included high quality fully serviced apartments built to buyers specifications.
A new facility at the hotel - ‘The Spa by King and Queen’ - will offer massages, body and beauty care.
The first stage of the development is projected to begin in early 2018.
Ozone Coffee Roasters is be relocated to a site nearby.