Plan certain to make waves

John Dalzell is in charge of a project to bring the city and its seafront together. Photo / Dean Purcell

John Dalzell enthuses about the "first large-scale urban renewal revitalisation project" now under way in Auckland.

Dalzell - chief executive of Sea + City Projects, which is driving developments at the Wynyard Quarter - is talking about the major transformation of a grimy, industrial-edged area of Auckland City bounded by an area commonly known as the "tank farm" and a series of fishing wharves into a lively mixed-use space which will house kids' playgrounds, boulevards, restaurants, apartments, plazas, and shops alongside a regenerated marine industry complex and fishing industries.

"It is essentially about transitioning the space from an industrial grid to a mixed-used city grid," Dalzell said. "It has to have vibrancy but still contain the essence and authenticity of the working waterfront."

The upcoming Rugby World Cup is acting as a catalyst for the project, enticing politicians at local and central Government levels to clear some roadblocks out of the way so that a waterfront promenade extending from Jellicoe St on the eastern edge of the precinct, down to "Silo Park" on the western edge is in place for Aucklanders and international visitors to enjoy during the six week "fan fest".

Dalzell notes more than 8ha of land in Wynyard Quarter has been cleared of tanks and buildings over the last five years. "There are new vistas of the harbour and of Rangitoto that simply weren't there before and more will be opened up as the redevelopment process continues."

"The marine industry will have a home and facilities for superyacht commissioning, refit and servicing here, which will help Auckland compete with Australia for this international business, maintaining a cluster of related business to deliver a total package of services," Dalzell said.

"In the meantime, we're working on Jellicoe St, which will feature an entertainment area with restaurants, bars and large public spaces, as well as being home to the seafood industry, with fishing boats coming and going from the restored North Wharf. Once this $10m wharf upgrade is finished this year the first spaces will be offered to the market to further develop this retail and entertainment area."

Dalzell emphasises the concepts displayed on pages 6-7 of Project Auckland (The Wynyard Quarter - The Face of the Future) have already captured the "attention and imagination" of a variety of people like Cabinet Ministers Gerry Brownlee and Rodney Hide.

"Silo Park" - an area which includes the silo "six-pack" and large Golden Bay cement silo down at the Western end of the precinct - is expected to be turned into focal point for family activity by the time the Cup rolls round. A new park area and wide screens strung high for people to enjoy the events is proposed, away from the "young and restless" raging at the new "party central" on the revamped Queens Wharf.

"These are key projects everyone recognises we need, to put out our best foot forward for Rugby World Cup," Dalzell said. "From our perspective, while the Auckland Transitional Authority will also now have to give its approval, it is business as usual and waterfront is a priority area."

Though the impact of the economic recession has probably slowed the private sector's appetite to be part of the commercial development of the area - this is not expected to be a deal-breaker for Sea + City which is taking take advantage of the lull in the property cycle to get "keener prices" for some of the essential infrastructure work.

The project will ultimately be a catalyst for private sector investment. But Dalzell makes the point "it's not about property development - it's all about city building and place shaping".

The project is the upshot of a deal forged in 2007 between Auckland Regional Holdings, Auckland City Council and Ports of Auckland to pave the way for the historic redevelopment of the waterfront.

Auckland City Council has also brought forward its planning to get a marine events centre at the northern end of Halsey St ready in time for the Cup. A resource consent needs to be in place by December this year. Construction is scheduled to begin February/March 2010 in order to complete the building by July/August 2011.

Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH) studied 60 other international waterfronts to find out what successful delivery and governance models are, what worked and what didn't.

The key finding was the importance of ensuring that cities' CBDs, their ports, precincts and waterfronts are seen as a package with real synergies that when captured help to make cities great.

ARH considers having a deep water port in the country's largest city is of immense strategic importance for New Zealand's international competitiveness, economic growth and prosperity.

"It is therefore important that any future plans for the development of the Auckland Waterfront preserve the port's long-term strategic requirements and are well-integrated with the port precinct and harbour."

Another key finding was that successful waterfront renewal projects retain the vibrancy of working waterfronts - the fishing, marine industry and ports.

The report can be found at www.arh.co.nz