Lawyer’s idea for art hotel over hole

An enterprising lawyer wants to build a boutique hotel over a massive Auckland landslide and walk tourists through the slip site to the area’s ‘‘iconic’’ attraction, the Chelsea sugar works.

When part of an Auckland Council-owned car park on the North Shore slipped away late last year, taking 120 car parks with it, shoppers shied away and residents started to notice businesses struggling.

However, lawyer Gerald Sharrock saw an opportunity to build a hotel partially over the hole and bring a new crowd to spend money in the area.

‘‘The hotel would bring more than 300 people a night through Birkenhead who otherwise would not come here and they would inevitably spend money in the village.’’

Sharrock proposed a 220-room hotel, which would cover the remaining Rawene Reserve car park footprint and then go a further 5 metres into the hole created by the slip.

The hotel plan had a ninth-floor viewing platform, open free of charge to the public, as well as a public art gallery.

‘‘Birkenhead has remarkably unique features that would support a unique hotel,’’ Sharrock said. ‘‘If you draw a 6-kilometre circle around Birkenhead, other than a few marginal motels, there is no accommodation.’’

Sharrock acknowledged ‘‘serious risk factors’’ with building on the site, but said he had commissioned engineering reportsshowing it could be done with some site re-engineering.

‘‘It has been suggested to council to look not to refill the hole, but to build into the hole.’’

A year prior to the slip, Sharrock had been working on plans for a hotel in the area, but he said the slip provided an opportunity for the council ‘‘to pick up the bill’’ for an additional public multi-storey car park on the site, which could link with his hotel parking.

Sharrock also wanted to show off ‘‘one of the most iconic and remarkable sites’’ in the area, the Chelsea Sugar Refinery.

He said a 10-minute direct walking link between the hotel and the historic site, which starts public tours this year, could be made via the slip site if the council bought some of the private land.

The Auckland Council had started phase one of permanent stabilisation work, but another resident is also worried ‘‘the huge hole created by this slip is an opportunity about to be missed’’.

Birkdale resident Sarah Meikle wanted the council to utilise the slip repair works to create something that would bring shoppers back to the area.

‘‘Highbury Shopping Centre has been suffering over the years, as businesses struggle to compete with the mega malls.

‘‘The latest debacle over the car park slip has just added to its woes. The creation of a multi-storey car park, with the top utilised in a similar way to [central Auckland’s] Aotea Square would be a fantastic way to make the best of this situation.’’

The final detailed design of the replacement public car park is yet to be confirmed but is expected to be built slightly lower down the slope than the previous car park, according to the council.