Changing Auckland: Waterfront transformed from wasteland to thriving business district

Thursday, 31 December 2020

Auckland's waterfront has undergone significant changes in the last decade, Heart of the City's Viv Beck says.

The Auckland of 2021 looks very different to how some of its residents remember it. This Stuff series looks what the city used to be, and the place it's set to become.

Auckland’s downtown waterfront has always played a significant role in the city’s story.

And as the dark cloud of climate change looms, it’s being future-proofed to ensure its survival.

Nearly 20,000 Aucklanders living in eight harbour-edge communities face a future flood risk under projected sea level rises due to climate change.

The America’s Cup World Series opening day at Auckland Viaduct.

* 10 things you can only do in Auckland

* It's time for Auckland to follow Sydney in becoming a truly 24-hour economy

An Auckland Council map showing downtown areas exposed to flooding by 2100 due to climate change.

Most of the scenarios are based on one-in-100 year storm surges, combined with a one-metre rise in sea levels which is forecast to occur by 2100.

The city’s thriving waterfront business district is at the centre of the at-risk zone, but Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said steps are already being taken to adapt.

“Climate change is a key priority for business,” Beck said.

“It’s been interesting to see the design of Te Wananga, the new public space being built on the waterfront, which has been designed to adapt to climate change and sea level rise. It’s going to be a key part of planning in the future.”

In the past 10-15 years, downtown Auckland has been transformed.

Not so long, it was little more than a wasteland for the Ports of Auckland.

Downtown Auckland has gone from an industrial area to somewhere people call home, Viv Beck says.

Tourists and Auckland natives were cut off from the harbour by giant steel gates and fences, unable to access the harbour views that now act as the city’s shop window to the world.

“Places like Wynyard Quarter have gone from an industrial and marine precinct with storage tanks everywhere, to a place that people call home,” Beck said.

Located on a wharf, the Maritime Museum is vulnerable to climate change, director Vincent Lipanovich says.

“Nowadays it’s a place where families flock here to the weekend, with great businesses – but still strong links to its past.

“It’s remarkable to think about the radical change that’s happened in the last 15 years – which has stimulated business activity and created new places that stand out as destinations in their own right.”

The America’s Cup was the catalyst for the waterfront’s first facelift, after San Diego in 1995.

America's Cup teams head out for Christmas cup regatta in Auckland.

By 2000, the area had gone from a maritime backyard to a tourist hot spot.

It reflected the change in how people viewed the waterfront, New Zealand Maritime Museum director Vincent Lipanovich said – from a working space to somewhere people wanted to spend time.

As the museum director of five years and a lifelong Aucklander, he’s seen the changes to the waterfront up close.

The shifting status of waterfront land can also be seen in the redevelopment of Wynward Quarter: “A major industrial area might not be what we want to have on beautiful waterfront land now, but it was in the 50s and 60s.”

Even in the past five years, Lipanovich has seen the area become “much more lively”.

His thoughts are also occupied by how the museum will have to adapt in response to Auckland’s rising sea levels. Climate change is an “incontrovertible fact”, he said, and it factors into the museum's long-term planning for collection management.

“We’re on the wharf so it is vulnerable by definition.”

Climate change is also shaping what’s on the inside of the museum, with a greater focus on water quality, ecology and humans’ relationship with the sea.

Covid-19 has dampened the buzz around the America’s Cup somewhat, but anticipation is still building, Beck said.

“Going out to watch the America’s Cup racing was fabulous, with the new city centre skyline in full view.

“There’s still some work to do with long term thinking needed about the future of the land occupied by the port and some major redevelopment to still happen in Wynyard Quarter – but we’re very happy to proudly show it off over the summer months, particularly whilst the racing is on.”

There’s a noticeable shift in the atmosphere around the area too, with a major international event in town there’s a distinct buzz in the air, Beck said.

“If I think back to ten years ago it was an exciting time for this part of the city because preparations were underway for the Rugby World Cup.

“There was an energy and anticipation about getting things finished, and the city was starting to see some amazing new places open up for people, a bit like the Viaduct had experienced years earlier with the America’s Cup (2000).

“Businesses and customers alike have adapted to the various alert levels this year but the spirit of this area remains intact.”