KEY POINTS:
A $3.7 million transformation awaits the "pig ugly" eyesore towed into Tauranga last week, with hovercraft and helicopter operators among those lining up to use the new facility.
Ripples of alarm have followed in the wake of the Devonport Naval Base's old maintenance barge when locals realised that this was to be the replacement for the downtown's Coronation Pier.
A Tauranga charter boat operator was incredulous that something so "pig ugly" could end up taking pride of place on the waterfront.
And a downtown business owner, who also asked not to be named, said it would do nothing to enhance the waterfront and just create an eyesore.
But city businessman Mark Scapens has reassured Tauranga that his barge will be rebuilt into a state-of-the-art piece of architecture.
While it looked ugly now, he said it would emerge from a four-month rebuild as something the city could be proud of.
"We intend to make a very good job of this."
He said he will spend $3.7m converting the barge into a two-storey floating commercial development with a 19-berth finger pier. It will be tethered by piles to the harbour bed, with a permanent link to the reclamation making it look like a pier.
Mr Scapens, who owns the waterfront's Kestrel At The Landing restaurant, has embarked on a joint development with Tauranga City Council, which will contribute another $1.5m to demolish the old pier and carry out all the onshore works, including upgrading services to the new pier and rejigging carparks on the reclamation.
The only components to survive the 12-year-old barge rebuild will be the hull, the concrete deck, the building's steel frame and the roof.
Most of the new cladding would be glass to maximise water views, with few solid walls - just necessities such as the cafe's kitchen and the central toilet block.
Construction is to start in June with a target completion date of September.
Mr Scapens said the design was a little bit out on the edge: "Will everyone like it? Probably not."
He explained that the pier had to last a long time from an architectural point of view.
"We are looking to make a statement but not a bad statement."
The 7m-wide and 45m-long building will be at a right-angle to the shore, rather than sitting across the view line. Mr Scapens said the building's configuration made it architecturally challenging but they had to keep within the council's design envelope for the pier.
The barge's width will be doubled by the addition of 10m-wide deck for outdoor dining and a public walkway.
Three metres of freeway would be added to each end and Harbour Bridge Marina-styled finger piers would radiate from the structure.
Advertising for prospective building tenants begins this weekend and Mr Scapen has received commitments for more than half of the berths - including five of Coronation Pier's current six berth holders.
One of the berths has been pencilled in for a person who plans to launch a commercial hovercraft service around Tauranga Harbour. A helicopter operator also wants to put a landing pad on the roof of the building.
- BAY OF PLENTY TIMES
