News Releases Sea+City Project in Wynyard Quarter Auckland, New Zealand

16 June 2009

Media Release: Preliminary designs for Wynyard Quarter on Auckland's waterfront online for all to see

The preliminary designs for the first public areas in Wynyard Quarter - planned to be ready in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011 - can be seen from today at www.seacity.co.nz/progress.

Preliminary design work is currently underway in Precinct Plan 1 around Jellicoe Street, by a team of designers with extensive experience in waterfront projects.

Melbourne company Taylor Cullity Lethlean and Wellington-based Wraight and Associates are completing the preliminary design stage, building on the work of Architectus, who put together the principles of design for this first precinct and the wider Wynyard Quarter.

Wynyard Quarter on Auckland's waterfront, formerly known as the Tank Farm, will be transformed in stages over the next 25 years into a harbourside community with parks and plazas, apartments, shops and offices alongside the traditional marine and fishing industries.

The area around Jellicoe Street will be the heart of Wynyard Quarter. The preliminary designs that can be seen on the website show Jellicoe Street itself; North Wharf and the promenade; and the Silo Park area and waterspace.

Sea+City Projects Ltd, which is working on behalf of all partners in the revitalisation to implement the shared vision, is delighted to have reached this milestone.

"With work almost complete on North Wharf, which will be transformed into a retail and entertainment area we are now gathering momentum, with some inspiring designs for the rest of the public areas around Jellicoe Street," says Sea+City Chief Executive and Project Director, John Dalzell.

"The designers have responded to the character of the area, to people's input so far about what they would like to see in Wynyard Quarter, and have come up with some fantastic ideas that I think people will be excited about."

People are invited to give their views on the preliminary designs, which will be considered for incorporation in the following design stages. Those include developed then detailed design before construction begins. This will also be dependent on the consent process.

The joint Auckland Regional Council and Auckland City Council vision for Wynyard Quarter, brought to life by Taylor Cullity Lethlean and Wraight and Associates, is to create a unique Auckland waterfront destination. The key elements of this are a civic waterfront promenade, offering different kinds of experiences that everyone can enjoy, and retaining the working waterfront, character and history of the area.

To find out more and view the preliminary designs, please visit www.seacity.co.nz/progress.

Media inquiries to:
John Dalzell
Sea+City Projects Ltd CE and Project Director
021 949 265

Preliminary design pics:
These will be provided on request, please contact Melanie McKay at Star Public Relations on (09) 912 7827, or 021 0200 8550.

Editors' note:
Over the next 25 years around 29 hectares of Auckland's waterfront within Wynyard Quarter will be transformed in stages into a harbourside community with parks and plazas, apartments, shops and offices alongside the traditional marine and fishing industries. It is one of the largest waterfront urban renewal developments ever undertaken in New Zealand.

The regeneration project is a cooperative venture co-funded by Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH), the majority landowner, and Auckland City Council, which will own the roads, promenades, wharfs, parks and plazas. Auckland City Council will also share ownership of the headland public space with Auckland Regional Council (ARC). ARH established Sea City Projects Ltd (SCPL) to manage the revitalisation, and its commercial land north of Pakenham Street. Auckland City Council has appointed SCPL to project manage the design and construction of the public areas throughout Wynyard Quarter. ARH is a statutory investment management entity and part of the Auckland Regional Council group.