Bold new plan for waterfront

The tank farm in the foreground will be transformed over 20 years into an area for living and recreation. Picture / Kenny Rodger

Ports of Auckland has unveiled designs for a multi-billion-dollar redevelopment of the waterfront's western reclamation area, putting new entertainment and retail facilities, apartments and public spaces next to existing fishing and marine industries.

The concept extends from the Viaduct Harbour, across a new rotating bridge, to a similar development on the 18ha, western reclamation tank farm.

The site is the size of the central business district from Britomart to the town hall.

Envisaged are waterfront parks, including one at the northern tip of the reclamation with a volcanic-like cone; a canal on the city side; a new wharf area; a large reflection pool looking out to Westhaven marina and the harbour bridge; incorporating concrete silos into a modern art gallery; an open-air, public swimming pool; and a planted pedestrian connection to Victoria Park.

The project would extend public access to the waterfront by 2.6km and provide 1.6km of new public boardwalks and 5.1ha of new open space. The land could be renamed Kahurangi, meaning blue or precious jewel.

Ports company chief executive Geoff Vazey stressed that the concept's designs, by local firm Architectus and San Francisco designer Peter Walker, were only suggestions.

All going to plan, work on the staged development would begin in 2009 and take until 2025 to complete.

Mr Vazey noted the site was a complex one, contaminated by decades of petrochemical use and practices to do with reclamation, roading, stormwater and being on the water's edge. It was still a working area for the bulk-liquid, marine and other industries, whose interests had to be taken into account.

Other complicating factors were mixed ownership and regulatory issues affecting the land. The land is owned by the ports company, which was recently brought under full public ownership by Auckland Regional Holdings - the investment arm of the Auckland Regional Council.

The ARC and the Auckland City Council hope to release a set of principles next month, ahead of town planning changes for the land by the middle of next year.

Auckland Deputy Mayor Dr Bruce Hucker yesterday welcomed the designs as part of the process but indicated a lot more collaborative work needed to be done. Who would oversee the development, which would cost more than $200 million for the public infrastructure and billions of dollars of private-sector investment, had not yet been decided.

Mr Vazey said the ports company planned to lease the land and would not be the developer.

Geoff Green, of the Westhaven Viaduct Tenants and Ratepayers Association, said the plans would suffocate the bulk-liquid and marine industries to provide apartments.

Plans for the tank farm are on view from today until September 25 at the former information centre at Viaduct Harbour. Details are available online at www.tankfarm.co.nz