Precinct Properties to restart $305m hotel and office building redevelopment, integrated into Commercial Bay

Monday, 24 May 2021

Construction of The One Queen St 21-level hotel and office building at the foot of Queen Street is expected to start soon. The building illustrated will stand in front of the tall PwC Tower, part of the Commercial Bay development completed last year.

Leading inner city developer Precinct Properties will soon start building a $305 million hotel and office building, integrated into its Commercial Bay project on the Auckland waterfront.

Chief executive Scott Pritchard said in a statement on the NZX that following completion of a comprehensive re-design, construction of the IHG-branded One Queen Street redevelopment of the HSBC office building would shortly commence.

The redevelopment into a 21-level hotel and offices was put on hold a year ago because of Covid-19.

The new hotel will be smaller than the initial plan announced in August 2018, and will have 139 rooms compared to 244 in the earlier design. It will be run by global operator InterContinental Hotels Group, which had been selected for the original hotel.

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Precinct Properties chief executive Scott Pritchard says the revised One Queen Street hotel and offices project will be integrated into its Commercial Bay office and retail development completed last year.

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“Building on the success of Commercial Bay since opening almost one year ago, this second stage will comprise a luxury hotel, premium office accommodation and a variety of unique food and beverage options. Importantly, the revised scheme remains fully integrated into the Commercial Bay retail precinct,” Pritchard said.

“One Queen Street occupies one of the most prominent positions within Auckland’s city centre so ensuring the building is contributing to the city centre and to Commercial Bay has been a priority for Precinct.

“We are very excited to be announcing the recommencement of this project and further progressing the creation of a world-class destination.”

Levels six to 11 of the 5-star Green Star building would comprise the hotel guest floors. The balance of the floors would accommodate around 14,000 square metres of premium grade offices, and a roof-top bar on Level 21.

The project was 59 per cent leased. Construction would be done by LT McGuinness on a fixed price contract with completion due in late 2023.

The total project was expected to cost about $305m. That is just above the $298m announced for One Queen Street two and a half years ago.

“IHG is excited to bring our luxury Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts brand to New Zealand’s best address, One Queen Street,” Abhijay Sandilya, IHG’s vice president of development, Japan, Australasia & Pacific, said.

The InterContinental Auckland would stand at the foot of Queen Street and enjoy unimpeded views of the Waitematā. Integrated within Commercial Bay, the hotel would have direct access to world-class retail and hospitality, including the rooftop terrace and bar, he said.