Concern at possible wharf skyscraper

Waterfront Watch said it had been blindsided by the sudden change.

THE proposed new site of a $100 million Hilton Hotel and Convention Centre is not subject to any height restrictions – raising the possibility of a multistorey skyscraper.

Greater Wellington Regional Council said resource consent for the CentrePort-owned Interisland Wharf would be covered by the Regional Coastal Plan, which does not impose any specific height restrictions.

Planning watchdog Waterfront Watch said it had been blindsided by the sudden change of location for the 165-room hotel with 2500-capacity conference centre.

‘‘There will be concern that there isn’t a height restriction,’’ president Mary Munro said yesterday. ‘‘Theoretically, it means they could put up a 20-storey building if they wanted to.’’

Regional council environment management general manager Nigel Corry said the height of any proposed building would be decided as part of the consenting process.

‘‘The regulator would take into consideration a number of factors and would balance these against the application.’’

It was not possible to make ‘‘any definitive comments’’ on the matter yet, as no consent application had been made.

The Dominion Post revealed yesterday that plans to build a five-star Hilton Hotel and Convention Centre in Cable St, opposite Te Papa, had been suddenly axed, with the Interisland Wharf site proposed instead.

Head developer

and

investor Mark Dunajtschik said in a written statement that the Cable St location was no longer viable, and he and Hilton were now pursuing the wharf location.

Wellington city councillor Helene Ritchie, who in November voted against the council leasing the convention centre from Dunajtschik for $4m a year, said the deal ‘‘fell over primarily because the developer had not been able to purchase the land on which the convention centre was to be built’’.

Willis Bond managing director Mark McGuinness, whose firm built the luxury apartment on Clyde Quay Wharf, said it was clear ‘‘very little thought’’ had taken place on the viability of the Interisland Wharf site.

‘‘Building on the water is very complex and enormously expensive, far more expensive than building on land, and legally it’s very complex.’’

He called for a search for sites that were ‘‘perhaps a little bit more realistic’’, such as the Michael Fowler Centre car park.

‘‘You are building on land, and it’s controlled by council. Those two things would bring the ... costs down significantly.’’

Hotelier Chris Parkin said the demise of the Cable St site came as a surprise. ‘‘I thought it was locked down and solid.’’

But he was in favour of a harbour location.

‘‘If we can get a waterfront location with a good outlook then that would be a better option.’’

The council said yesterday the hotel and convention centre could be opened on the wharf by the end of 2017 – six months later than planned for Cable St.

McGuinness said that time frame was ‘‘very optimistic’’.

But Parkin said Dunajtschik was a ‘‘sharp operator’’ and if ‘‘anyone can bring it in in that time frame, he can’’.