$120m hotel set to supercharge city CBD
The developers behind parts of Auckland's Viaduct have spotted Hamilton’s potential, and they’re putting their money where their mouth is with a $120 million hotel, retail and residential development downtown.
The resulting 10-storey-plus high-end hotel development is set to supercharge Hamilton’s CBD and link hotspots including the new Waikato Regional Theatre and Victoria on the River.
Due to incorporate apartments and retail space, the four-star hotel development is earmarked for Victoria St, just north of the under-construction theatre.
The project will add further buzz to the inner city which, besides the theatre, has seen a range of big redevelopments in recent years.
As foreshadowed exclusively last year by the Waikato Times, the minimum 10-storey new hotel project is due to be undertaken by major Auckland-headquartered developer Templeton Group.
The cost is estimated at up to $120 million across 2000m² of land.
It’s a first-time Waikato project for Templeton, which has had its eye on the burgeoning city.
Founder Nigel McKenna says Hamilton is too good an opportunity to miss, given its surging growth.
“To me, Hamilton is not only the fastest-growing, it will continue to be so,” said McKenna, whose firm has been a leading hotel developer nationally, including in Auckland and Wellington.
City political leaders are stoked about the conditional deal between the council and Templeton, due to pave the way for the development within the next few years.
“This is going to be a fabulous four-star hotel right in the heart of our city,” said mayor Paula Southgate, who has long pushed for such a development.
“So it’s win-win-win as far as I’m concerned–hotel, accommodation and economic development.”
Southgate said Hamilton was great at hosting major events, and a new hotel would help it attract more. The site would also help to boost the number of inner-city residents and CBD foot traffic.
Economic development committee chairperson Ewan Wilson said of the development: “It’s transformational. It’s yet another cornerstone in the rejuvenation of the city’s CBD.”
The deal involves the council and Templeton signing a conditional agreement for the latter to buy properties at 242-254 Victoria St to the north of the regional theatre.
Templeton has a year to complete undisclosed matters required by the council to make the deal unconditional. Building is expected to take several years after that.
Southgate said making the deal unconditional would involve “due diligence on both sides”.
“Finalising [things] always takes time with these large commercial deals.”
Wilson said the council had fallback options in the “unlikely” event of the arrangement with Templeton not panning out.
Besides a hotel with yet to be finalised bed numbers, it’s hoped the site will include a “world-class” food and entertainment precinct on the ground level opening to the riverfront, with office space, and residential apartments above.
The council purchased 242-266 Victoria St for just under $6.5m in 2018.
Wilson said the sale of part of this purchase to Templeton would generate a significant undisclosed profit.
The council will hang on to 260-266 Victoria St for developing into a public space and extending the Victoria on the River development, with Templeton’s help.
Planning and costs for this are yet to be finalised.
“This development will continue the work already done through previous projects in the nearby [Victoria on the River] and the exceptional work of Stark Property,” said Southgate.
Besides Hamilton’s growth, McKenna said Templeton was attracted to the city because it was “smack bang in the middle of a very large area”.
“So to me. it’s just too big an investment opportunity to not be involved in.”
Auckland and Tauranga, he said, served smaller geographical areas.