Auckland City Mission's new HomeGround wins top Property Council award

The new HomeGround won excellence awards. Photo / Dean Purcell

The new Auckland City Mission building, extensions to the Cordis Hotel and Christchurch's Te Pae convention centre have all won Property Council awards tonight.

HomeGround on Hobson St won the top award for excellence, the judges saying it was the first single-site supportive housing for people needing accommodation, food and low-cost medical services. It was designed by Stevens Lawson Architects and built by Built Environs, has 80 permanent apartments and a medical centre, withdrawal facilities, kitchens, dining, education and training areas.

Council chief executive Leonie Freeman said HomeGround was a genuine example "of how a building can be not only a roof over our head but a safe haven for those in need".

Additions to the Cordis Hotel on Symonds St were praised. Photo / Dean Purcell

Extensions to Symonds St's Cordis Hotel won a tourism and leisure award. The judges said an additional 244 guest rooms were gained via the 17-level Pinnacle Tower.

Te Pae won a civic health and arts prize. It has 28,000sq m of floor area, a 1400-seat tiered auditorium, 2800sq m of exhibition space, an 1800-seat banquet area and state-of-the-art audio-visual facilities.

All up, 83 entries were received for the awards, whose main sponsor is Rider Levett Bucknall.

Te Pae in Christchurch. Photo / supplied

Around 1500 people were at Auckland's Spark Arena for the prizegiving.

The Rise in Titirangi won a retail property award and Christchurch's Te Aratai College (previously called Linwood College) won an education award.

Wellington's shared space The Generator won excellence and best in category awards for the redevelopment of 30 Waring-Taylor, built in 1927.

Profile Group's Hautapu headquarters in Cambridge won excellence and best in category awards. The commitment to deliver on Appropriate Holdings' pledge to sustainability was evident from the design stage through to construction and ongoing operation, the judges said.

Modal in Mt Albert won after a single dwelling was demolished and a five-level building with 32 apartments was developed.

David Rankin, chief executive of Auckland Council's Eke Panuku Development, was honoured for his work on urban generation during his career in local government.

He joined the council in 1989 as a law graduate and worked in various roles including industrial relations and finance, the council said.

He had spent his entire career striving to make Tāmaki Makaurau a better place to live, the council said.