Waterfront’s Site 9 plans progressing
Willis Bond is pushing ahead with its plans for a new five-level commercial building on the Wellington waterfront, despite the possibility it will become the subject of a legal battle.
Yesterday, Willis Bond Capital Partners No 3 applied for a resource consent on an area along Customhouse Quay known as Site 9, which is subject to public notification.
Plans for the building include a ground floor with retail shops and a cafe and foyer area, and four floors of office space.
Concerns about the building’s height were highlighted in October last year when Wellington City Council agreed to lease the land for the development.
The building’s proposed height is at odds with an Environment Court ruling in 2012 that stated the maximum height of a building on that site should be 19 metres, sloping to 16m.
Resource consent documents state the building will be just under 20m at its highest point, sloping downwards to 16.5m in its southern section – shorter than previously designed.
Willis Bond & Co said its move to reduce the height was born out of public feedback on its initial designs.
Development and commercial manager Rosalind Luxford said Willis Bond & Co applied for the plans to be directly referred to the Environment Court.
‘‘I don’t think we are pushing the envelope, I think we are largely in line with what was in the Environment Court decision.’’
The future of Site 9 has been a point of contention for years. In 2014, plans for a shipwreck museum on Site 9 were scuppered because of concerns it would fail to attract enough visitors.
Last year, it was said the site shouldn’t be considered for development until the ‘‘enormous’’ office building on Site 10 was complete, and a review was made on how the buildings would affect the waterfront environment.
Luxford said the building’s design was ‘‘very sympathetic to the area’’. Discussions over who could lease the space were ‘‘confidential’’ at this stage.
The council expects the resource consent application will go straight to the Environment Court.
Council spokesman Richard MacLean said a date for a hearing was yet to be confirmed.
Submissions on the resource consent application are open until November 9.
’’I don’t think we are pushing the envelope . . .’’ Rosalind Luxford, Willis Bond & Co