From glitz to ghost-town: Building on another planet
Nine-level entertainment hub on Auckland’s Queen St which attracted thousands on the market
Auckland’s Skyworld building, once home to star-studded parties with Hollywood’s finest but now a neardeserted shell, has hit the market.
The nine-level entertainment hub on Queen St was launched more than
20 years ago to much fanfare, and in
2017 was raking in $9 million in rent annually and reportedly attracted more than 12,000 visitors daily.
The owner, JNJ Holdings, whose sole director is Korean businessman James Kwak, paid $37m for the building in 2011, but post-Covid the property has struggled, with foot traffic down and shops and restaurants lying vacant.
Current tenants include Event Cinemas — which houses New Zealand’s biggest movie screen — a gaming arcade, GameOn, Metrolanes bowling alley and assorted food court outlets.
The instantly recognisable building, known for its quirky satellitestyle roof, vertigo-inducing escalators and high metal bridges, was designed by architect Ashley Allen, who took his inspiration from sci-fi films and Blade Runner.
The $70m building was to house New Zealand’s first IMAX theatre and the glitzy restaurant chain Planet Hollywood, which was backed by stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.
Other high-profile tenants of what was then known as Force Entertainment included US book chain Borders and Burger King.
The hub launched in 1999 and became a magnet for stars who were visiting the country, including singers Christina Aguilera and Mandy Moore and Oscar-winner Robin Williams, who attended the premiere of his movie Bicentennial Man at the IMAX cinema with his family.
However, the building was marred by tragedy in 2000 when a school student died after falling 14 metres from one of the upper floor ledges. Another man fell from six floors on to the food court floor in 2005, prompting fears about safety in the building.
The site’s high-profile tenants also started to disappear.
Planet Hollywood closed in 2003 and Borders pulled out in 2012; new restaurants and bars didn’t last long either, with Teatro, Open and Ming closing soon after launching.
The building changed owners several times too. SkyCity saved the developers from receivership, after taking a 50 per cent stake, and later sold it to Orchard Funds Management, with a leaseback arrangement.
JNJ Holdings bought the building in 2011 and embarked on plans to widen the range of businesses and activities on offer at Skyworld. Metrolanes took Planet Hollywood’s old spot, Carl’s Jr replaced Borders and a mini-golf course was built in the basement.
However, the complex has never been able to escape negative headlines. In 2017, RNZ reported that the building had not had a WoF for 435 days. And the Covid-lockdown turned the complex into a ghost town, with foot traffic never recovering.
The building is now only partially tenanted and has a rental return of $4.25m plus GST per a year — less than half of what it was netting when at full occupancy with more than 40 tenants.
Just under half of the 16,000sqm of total lettable space in the sprawling complex remains empty, which listing agency Colliers said is due to a planned refurbishment and redevelopment.
The former food court has been stripped back to a single area that is ready to accommodate future occupiers in a completely redesigned space and a second dining precinct fronting Aotea Square at Level 2 is also vacant.
Several architectural designs have been drawn up for the property with Warren and Mahoney proposing transforming the area into a revived entertainment hub.
The plans are at council awaiting building consent. An alternative design by Walker Group Architects proposes a mixed-use precinct that would include retail, office space, a hotel and apartments.
Colliers director of capital markets Blair Peterken, who is marketing the property with directors Jason Seymour and Richard Kirke, said the owner has shelved these projects and instead wants to retire next year.
Seymour added a building with such prominence, profile and proven potential is hard to find.
“With the opportunity to refresh the property a new owner has the chance to create Auckland’s preeminent entertainment destination that will offer excellent accessibility, not only to the enormous resident and student population in the immediate area but also the wider Auckland region through the public transport network.
“Alternatively, a future repositioning of the property into a mixed-use development would help reshape a section of the central city that is well placed to thrive in the future.”