Plans for New Zealand’s Tallest New Skyscraper Unveiled

Plans were revealed today for a new 209-meter, 52-storey skyscraper in Auckland, New Zealand. The tower will be referred to as the NDG Auckland Centre, named after the New Development Group owned by Shanghai businessman Nuru Ding. Once finished, the NDG Auckland Centre will be the largest building in New Zealand and the second tallest structure in the country behind the Sky Tower. The $350 million skyscraper will feature residential space, a hotel, shopping centre, restaurants, cinema, and sky decks. Auckland residents will also look forward to using the building’s 6-storey underground parking structure.

The tower will be built on a site that previously held the Royal International hotel that was demolished in the 1980s. Since 1987, the site has been vacant and has changed hands a number of times. It was acquired by Acadia Corp in 1987. They removed the old building and planned to build a $120 million, 32-storey office tower. Soon after the acquisition, the stock market crashed and prevented the building from coming to fruition. BIL took over Acadia and sold the site to Chase Corporation, who then wanted to build a tower with its retail subsidiary Farmers Trading Co on the ground floor and offices above. They also wanted to attach the tower to the Chase Finance Centre by a sky-bridge. After the government pushed against them, the site changed hands to DaeJu in 2003. This company wanted to develop the site into a 67-storey, $450 million tower with retail and apartments. Without adequate funding, the company sold to the current owners of the site. As of now, the site is being used as a parking lot. NDG hopes to get building consent by 2015 and the expected completion date is 2020. Auckland Council designer Ludo Campbell-Reid believes that The Auckland Center along with the proposed City Rail Link project will create a vibrant new heart to the city region.