Green light for hotel complex

A plan to build a boutique hotel in Havelock North has been granted resource consent.

The developer of a new five-star boutique hotel and retail complex in Havelock North plans to head to the market to find an operator for the $20 million project.

Lowmac Properties received resource consent from the Hastings District Council (HDC) to build the 4300m complex on a site bordering Havelock and Te Aute roads, where the Happy Tav was located.

Lowmac would next secure a chain or private hotel operator. It could then submit a building consent application to council, a process which could take up to 24 months, before construction could begin.

The complex included a 57-room boutique hotel, with restaurant, bar and conference facilities, retail stores and offices on three levels, with a basement car park.

Lowmac was owned by the Lowe and Mackersey families and the hotel development was one of a number in the company's Havelock North portfolio which included Cinema Gold, Village Court and the Porter Drive building under construction.

Lowmac spokesman David Mackersey said the company had been working with the council for the past eight years to ensure the new complex complied with the district plan rules and was complementary to Havelock North's village character. "The building height restriction of 12m will not be exceeded and we have addressed issues such as parking with a dedicated basement car park for 93 cars," he said.

"The council requires us to provide a pedestrian pathway through the rear of the site, which will link Havelock Rd, the council-owned car park through to Porter Drive."

The design of the complex was carefully considered and it was important the building fitted into the "village look and feel"

"And we've been working with the architects and the HDC to get that right. As our building has no back wall as such, all facades and frontages will be visible," Mr Mackersey said.

The council commissioned Deyana Popova of Urban Perspectives to peer review the proposal.

Mr Mackersey said he believed the $20 million investment by Lowmac would have a significant economic benefit to the region: "We are using local consultants and architects and will utilise local people to build and manage the complex."

It would not be the first hotel at the site, the Exchange Hotel was built there in the early 1900s.

"You could say we're coming full circle by returning the site to its former use," Mr Mackersey said. The Happy Tav's manager Gavin Skinner was positive about the changes and after 17 years of owning the bar admitted "it needs development".

Havelock North Business Association president Adrienne Pierce said the complex would add to the mix of retail, hospitality and business in the village.

"It's in a great location and gives people another accommodation option. And with the demand for accommodation for weddings, concerts and the Hawke's Bay Opera House so high, it will help enormously."

Hawke's Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas said the introduction of the Havelock North hotel would be valuable for visitors to the region. Plans for a similar international hotel project in Hastings should be next.

"Definitely, if we can get a hotel of that type in the CBD, we'd be able to take advantage of the Hawke's Bay Opera House, which is a great facility, it would really drive conferences and events there."