KEY POINTS:
Real estate agency Kellands is denying that Auckland's Rhubarb Lane is in jeopardy, promising good news on the project next month.
Kellands said yesterday it was still marketing the mixed-use apartment, shopping and office project.
Deborah Kelland, principal of Kellands, accused the Herald of "inaccuracies and misinformation" and said her agency was still upbeat about the project. She hopes to have more to say by mid-December.
Yesterday, theHerald reported that Bayleys Real Estate was under Westpac's orders to sell the site of the planned $600 million development. Westpac has the first mortgage over the land.
Starline Group's Jamie Peters owns the site which he leases to Australian Doug Rikard-Bell.
Kellands is optimistic about the development, despite the bank's call for a mortgagee sale.
"We are confidently saying 'watch this space' and are extremely positive about the project moving ahead," Deborah Kelland said.
She later told theHerald Mr Rikard-Bell was in a strong position to be able to buy the site and complete the development.
"But it's up for auction so we will see what happens," she said.
She refused to reveal how successful marketing had been, saying sales information was confidential, but she had never worked with a developer with more vision for a project.
Kellands is marketing apartments from $375,000 to $2.8 million and says the units will be 47sq m to 374sq m.
Rhubarb Lane will be the centre of the Victoria Quarter village, with cafes, bars, restaurants, fresh flowers, meat and fish, delicatessens and other shops.
The development is planned for the 2.9ha former Auckland City Council works depot between Wellesley, Sale and Cook Sts.
"Above this lively local shopping scene are six uniquely different buildings," Kerllands' pub;licity says.
"Each building has been created by a different architect and each offer [sic] a very special type of apartment.
"We have elected to brand this special apartment type the aPod. aPods are not just apartments or commercial loft studios - they're both. They are designed to be something that resembles a loft studio apartment, but the zoning permits a residential use, or a commercial use, or both.
"An aPod can be a working space and/or living place, a city pad or a perfect production base. It could also be an investment with a commercial income potential.
"The aPods differ materially from building to building. They are different sizes, they have differing bathrooms, bars and kitchens, and each building has its own architectural signature."
Mr Rikard-Bell said yesterday he hoped to start building midway through next year, but this would depend on arranging finance and how the world financial markets performed.
He plans to bid for the property when it is auctioned next month.
" The opportunity for me to freehold the site is an exciting one and it's a good little mixed scheme that I would like to see happen."
In the meantime, he is collecting rent from about 23 small tenants including a carparking operator, landscaping and computer businesses.
He took exception to the Herald saying his project had "turned to custard" and said 153 apartments were now planned. The first phase would be shops, a small hotel and loft studios.
