Freedom is in the air

Cooper says Auckland must take advantage of its Polynesian-cosmopolitan character. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Britomart visionary Peter Cooper believes Auckland is on the crest of an "extremely exciting time."

"To have a one-city structure is going to free Auckland and free its assets to be used in a much more productive ways," Cooper said. "The opportunity for Auckland is to develop a new image that is in keeping and legitimate to its ethnicity and demographics, that understands its culture and place.

"To get the opportunity to start afresh with a new governance structure will allow Auckland's assets to be better managed."

Cooper is the driving force behind the development of Britomart - a 5.8ha complex of heritage buildings, public spaces and regenerating sites fronting a kilometre of prime Auckland waterfront.

"The public-private partnership between Cooper and Company and the Auckland City Council is already transforming a dowdy area of the central city to an "it" destination with a classy New York feel.

It will ultimately house a 24/7 precinct complete with bars, apartments, offices, shops and galleries, cafe, restaurants, hotels and cinemas. Westpac and accounting firm Ernst and Young are among the foundation commercial tenants.

Top of Cooper's priority list for Auckland City is getting a convention centre in place - "they are a drawcard" - and also a waterfront agency to ensure developments are coherent.

His is an international outlook - but he emphasises Auckland must leverage its own unique Maori and Pacific influences. "It's very exciting ... We are the newest country in the world with a cultural identity that is 'very fresh' in world terms."

Couple that with New Zealand's 'inclusiveness" ("we are the most peaceful place in the world"), its richness of texture and the opening of the city to its sparkling waterfront and there is an immense opportunity to attract businesses and people to build their futures in Auckland.

Cooper points to Austin, Texas which has leveraged its music industry history and attracted the "creative classes" from elsewhere in the US. "Auckland has to decide what it wants to be known for," he said. "But it's a discussion rather than a conclusion."

Cooper is an expat resident in the US which is a prime investment focus. But he comes down to New Zealand frequently.

Cooper and Company is a private investment firm established in 1989 to develop and invest in assets on a long-term ownership basis.

It operates in two main areas - managing and developing real estate assets in the United States and New Zealand and private equity investments particularly in clean energy and financial services.

At the time we talked with Cooper, the Government's decision to orchestrate the acquisition of Queens Wharf for a cruise terminal had yet to be unveiled.

But it was clear he is impatient for the day when the ugly wharves across the road from his own office on Auckland's Quay St finally become open for public use.

The international economic recession has slowed down some Britomart developments - particularly for apartments - but there are some pluses. Cooper notes the cost of debt has gone down and tenants who have moved into Britomart are "trading well."

Cooper has assembled a top-class team in Auckland.

The company is headed by chief executive Matthew Cockram - like Cooper a former lawyer - and chairman of Bell Gully. Cockram described Cooper's style as "very thoughtful" and "understated".

Certainly completed buildings - like the restoration of the Chief Post Office building - make the best of its magnificent heritage right down to the intricate tiling.

The public spaces are already home to anything from farmers markets to avant garde performance art.

Marketing manager Sarah Hull is the brains behind the snappy viral marketing campaigns and "out there" events that are already drawing many Aucklanders down to the Britomart.

The Red Bull City Scramble at Queens Birthday weekend was a case in point where Britomart became the site of the only Off Road Enduro course to be built in downtown Auckland.

The event attracted top local and international stars and Aucklanders who stayed in droves to watch the riders compete across an artificial circuit complete with logs and water.

Hull has also used other "performance events" - including wrapping cars in gold - to get across the new "sense of place" that is Britomart.