Overseas investors look to Auckland ahead of CRL’s ‘phenomenal’ growth effect

Sunday, 16 March 2025

Public rail projects are music to the ears of developers, says a major international investor, and Auckland’s ‘transformation’ has started with a symphony, reports Jonathan Killick.

It may be hard for Aucklanders to imagine now, but civic leaders say the city centre is about to undergo a noticeably dramatic change as passengers and investors are funnelled into the city by City Rail Link.

When the CRL is finally finished - sometime in 2026 after a decade of construction - it’s expected that 20,000 people an hour will spew forth from new train stations on Albert St and Karangahape Rd as vastly more suburbs are brought within a 15-minute commute.

While that alone is expected to change the “vibe” of the city, the anticipation of those bustling hoards has also driven $6 billion worth of new skyscrapers and entertainment facilities, says Auckland Council.

Among those investors is Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad International (MRCB) - a $1.3b firm. Its chief executive Ravi Krishnan tells the Sunday Star-Times he thinks an underground rail loop will do for Auckland what it’s done for Kuala Lumpur.

“I think it will be transformative … As it stands, Auckland is on the map for being a dynamic city with a bustling waterfront and hosting sporting events, but with a more integrated hub like Aotea Station and the arts precinct, people will start to realise there’s more to Auckland than just a stop over to Queenstown.”

That international interest is just what the Government and Auckland Council have been trying to court, and MRCB’s new Symphony Centre at Aotea Square is the result.

Sitting atop the Wellesley St entrance to Te Waihorotiu station, the wave crested structure’s appearance will be as novel as the new urban lifestyle it represents, says its project manager Cristean Monreal of consultancy RCP.

“I wouldn’t be so bold as to call it Auckland’s Sydney Opera House, but it’s certainly architecturally interesting,” he says.

It’s been “carved by light”, and that’s not just esoteric design-speak - as part of planning conditions, the building wasn’t allowed to cast a shadow onto Aotea Square, and had to be shaped accordingly.

Ironically, restrictions like that are exactly what Housing Minister Chris Bishop has taken aim at, signalling that he wants to see 21 storey buildings permitted along the rail line from the city to Swanson to enable it to be “a world-class, international city”.

But, are Kiwis ready for that kind of living? Monreal thinks we’re “maturing” towards it.

Where young people might have once aspired to a quarter acre and a driven commute, the offering of an apartment with a 10-minute walk or train to work and city views for a little over a million dollars has gained appeal.

“Where could you afford a house with that kind of amenity?”

Drawing on overseas trends, the building has features like a residents’ lounge, an in-house gym and cinema, and even a dog grooming facility to bathe pets.

If Aucklanders don’t buy into it, Monreal says Aussies and Singaporeans will, because “they understand the benefits of living above a transit node”.

It also helps that Symphony has an exemption to sell up to 60% of its apartments to foreign buyers across the rest of the globe.

A glimpse of the future

It’s just one piece in the puzzle of a development boom spurred by the city’s anticipated train-enhance lifestyle - one that is being said to radically change the CBD starting from next year.

The Chow Brothers of Stonewood Group are refurbishing an old 15-level office building at 280 Queen St into the 322-room Radisson Red hotel. Downstairs it will have a three-level shopping mall.

It joins the brand new 225-room Indigo Hotel at 51 Albert St, 231-room Double Tree by Hilton at 92 Albert, SkyCity’s new 303-room Horizon Hotel and 191-room Grand Chancellor on Wellesley St.

And, Precinct Properties is spending $100 million on a 600 unit, 31-level, student accommodation tower on the site of the old McDonald’s at 256 Queen St, due in 2027.

Singapore’s NDG Asia Pacific has plans for a $350m, 51-storey building consisting of a five star, 300 suite Ritz Carlton Hotel, six floors of shops and 265 car parks on the corner of Elliot and Albert streets.

That’s a lot of new digs. Now consider that after 10 years, the NZ International Convention Centre will open in February next year with a capacity for 4000 people, and the St James has been given the funding green light for restoration by Auckland Council.

It all starts to make Auckland sound like a pretty lively place.

Monreal says it wouldn’t happen without CRL - “it wouldn’t make financial sense”.

And Krishnan says MRCB is already eyeing up further developments along the train line, most likely at K’ Rd.

Clearly a lot is riding on this train.

It can’t come soon enough existing business

Heart of the City’s Viv Beck says the timing of CRL’s arrival will prove critical for local businesses “in survival mode” while incessant construction disruption continues into its tenth year.

“I think its fair to say it’s been a very difficult decade with CRL and long-term, large-scale construction and the impacts of Covid and a cost of living crisis,” she says.

“And, I don’t want to drag down a positive a story about the future, but it is something that must never happen again.”

Turkish restaurant Midnight Express called it quits last month after 35 years, posting a note to its doors saying “another business destroyed by CRL”.

Beck says it was “so distressing” to see another person’s livelihood wrecked after having lobbied Auckland Council to stump up the remainder of $12 million promised for relief for construction-impacted businesses.

“They just decided for whatever reason that they had done enough [for business]. We didn’t agree.”

She understands there’s around $4 million left in the pot.

Meanwhile, Beck says Auckland Transport continues to be “a major source of frustration”, ticketing people for dropping off passengers on a stretch of Queen Stclosed to general traffic, outside the Civic Theatre.

“We have people on pensions getting charged $300 and then they say they’re not coming back … when we need to be encouraging people to the city.”

Councillor Richard Hills, who is chair of the Policy and Planning Committee, says thatgetting people back is just what council is trying to achieve.

He paints a vivid picture of the future: “When you come out of Te Waihorotiu station you’ll see brand new large safe boulevards, new businesses, people everywhere, heaps of new trees and gardens.

“It will feel like an exciting international big city and you’re not going to have to look at the timetable and worry about when the next train is coming, because they will be running continuous loops through the city.”

The leafy streets he’s referring to is Te Hā Noa, a “linear park” running from Albert Park to Victoria Park which includes now mature trees that were ordered seven years ago and recently craned in, and separated cycle ways.

Wayne Brown recently maligned the incomplete project in a campaign video, calling it a “waste of money” and “road cone central”.

Hills says that with an expected explosion of foot traffic from trains and a city centre permanent population swelling from 45,000 to 100,000, cars were inevitably going to have to give up space.

Brown was more cheery at the Symphony Centre launch, declaring he was “the only elected official who lives in the city and walks to work”.

“Developers like this support a liveable, walkable community … My Malaysian boys have come and bought up the city, so thanks for that,” he said.

“[Council] often works against private sector, but I'm turning that around and we'll be working with the private sector from which I came.”

Hills hopes to see that enthusiasm continue. He says CRL ought just to be the beginning.

“It would a shame if we stopped investing now … personally I’d love to see rail to the North Shore and airport in the future.

“I think once Aucklanders see how this transforms the city, they will be hungry for more.”