Why this empty plot of land worth $58m in the Auckland CBD is still a car park

Friday, 22 November 2024

A 51-storey Ritz Carlton Hotel is planned for the Elliot St car park in the Auckland CBD, but won't be built until the City Rail Link is complete in 2026.

A prime plot of land just a few doors down from Auckland’s Sky Tower has been used as a car park for almost 37 years.

So why hasn’t anyone chucked a building on it?

The 4417m² property on the corner of Albert and Elliot streets has a land value of $58 million, according to Auckland Council.

It has remained a gravel lot since 1987, when the Royal International Hotel was demolished.

The Elliot St car park, just down the road from the Auckland Sky Tower, is prime real estate, with a land value of $58 million.

Now, Wilson Parking will charge you $16 an hour to park there, or $13 if you pay using the Park Mate app (down from $19 an hour in 2021), with enough room to park 139 cars.

Singaporean owners NDG Asia Pacific NZ Ltd, which bought the land in 2012 for $53m, have big plans for it. Very big plans.

The company was given resource consent to build a $350m, 51-storey building, consisting of a five star, 300 suite Ritz Carlton Hotel, a six-floor retail precinct and 265 car parks.

NDG Asia Pacific NZ Ltd hopes to build a 51-storey tower on the land.

The building would be named the NDG Auckland Tower and would be the second tallest building in Auckland after the Sky Tower, edging out the PwC Tower at Commercial Bay.

However, its resource consent noted the building would not “compromise or dominate” the visibility of the iconic Sky Tower.

In 2021, Stuff reported the start of construction was dependent on the completion of City Rail Link in 2024.

The CRL’s grand opening has since been pushed out, once to 2025 and most recently to 2026.

The car park will remain a car park until the City Rail Link is finished in November 2026.

As a result, Auckland Council granted the tower’s resource consent an extension until October 2029.

Consent to continue running paid parking on the site was also renewed, expiring in September 2025.

Documents state NDG must plant and maintain at least three trees in planters to spruce up the site.

On November 8, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the Auckland rail network could close for an estimated 96 days in 2025, in a final push to finish the CRL and improve the wider rail network.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said the critical improvements included strengthening tunnels, retaining walls, bridges and drainage systems.

“I have made my expectations clear to KiwiRail and Auckland Transport, that everything is done to ensure disruptions are minimised, and that work is undertaken 24/7 around the clock to make the most of every single hour the network is closed.”

The $7 billion CRL, New Zealand’s largest ever infrastructure project, is expected to double the capacity of Auckland’s rail network, reducing congestion and increasing reliability for commuters.