51 Albert St, in the Auckland CBD, is nearing completion. Photo / Alyse Wright
51 Albert St, in the Auckland CBD, is nearing completion. Photo / Alyse Wright
Auckland’s newest tower, a $250 million project to be 41 levels high, will be topped off at the end of next month.
Charmaine Balchin, the Melbourne-based development manager for Ninety Four Feet Property Development and Construction, said nearly all floors were up in the tower, named 51 Albertafter its address, in Auckland’s centre.
“We’re currently at level 39 and the building will be 41 levels,” Balchin said last week.
The tower has risen on the site of the heritage Macdonald Halligan Motors building.
The facade of the old motors building at 51 Albert St remains, with the tower rising through its heart. Photo / Alyse Wright
Icon built the tower, funded by Australian private lender Merricks Capital, which has its name prominently on the scheme.
Merricks Capital’s mortgage funds target wholesale investors and institutional investors here and across the Tasman. That business said when it was announced it would fund the tower that it is backed “by the wealthy Liberman family, holders of the second-largest distributed family fortune in Australia”.
Merricks managing director of investment Andrew Torrington said in 2021 that despite the obvious short-term challenges surrounding the hospitality industry, he was bullish about the long-term prospects of Auckland’s hospitality industry and tourism.
In 2021, the Herald reported how Sydney’s Scott Carver Architects was appointed to design the tower. Matt George, 94 Feet’s sales and marketing director, visited in June that year and said the company bought the site in 2017.
“Pre-sales of the apartments were done in 2018, we demolished most of the building a year later but Covid came along in 2020 and that delayed the project. It took us longer to negotiate with Icon and we’re an Australian-based company so it was obviously more difficult. We’re looking to complete this towards the end of 2023,” George said two years ago.
The heritage building was in better condition than the developers had expected.
“The previous owners had done a design for a building to demolish the facades. We chose to do our utmost to maintain as much heritage as possible. The foundations of those facades were not damaged or cracked. They’re going to be easy to reinforce and strengthen,” George said at the time.
The architects had “embraced the history of 51 Albert St”, honouring the original 1912 building and features, including chevron timber floors and full-height windows.
“The overall design inspiration seeks to celebrate the building’s history and create a new, beautiful Auckland city landmark,” the Australians said.
Soaring soon to 41 levels: the new 51 Albert tower in Albert St. Photo / Alyse Wright
A heritage impact statement said the proposal, near the Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick & St Joseph, had some positive effects for the retained heritage facades.
A spokeswoman for global hotel business IHG Hotels & Resorts said this month the new tower would be a significant addition to operations.
“When Hotel Indigo opens in 2024, we’ll have tripled our presence in Auckland since 2020,” she said.
IHG Hotels & Resorts would then operate here:
The new Hotel Indigo, 51 Albert, opening 2024;
InterContinental Auckland opening at 1 Queen St in Precinct Properties’ building early 2024;
voco Auckland City Centre in Wynham St;
Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre in the same building in Wyndham St;
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport;
Crowne Plaza Auckland.
“We currently have 10 properties open in New Zealand, including four properties in Queenstown,” she said.
Those are InterContinental Wellington, Crowne Plaza Christchurch, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown, Crowne Plaza Queenstown, Holiday Inn Queenstown Frankton Road, Holiday Inn Queenstown Remarkables Park, voco Auckland City Centre with the Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre in the same building, Holiday Inn Auckland Airport and Crowne Plaza Auckland.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
