Andrew Krukziener, who owns several buildings in the central city and was involved in legal action against the council over pedestrianisation works on Queen St, yesterday said if the sale goes ahead a judicial review will be lodged at the High Court.
The legal action will be brought by Save Queen Street Society Incorporated, of which Krukziener is a member.
Councillors are expected to take the final decision on a controversial plan to sell the building, which has 1944 spaces for cars and has provided affordable parking since it was built in 1970.
Leaked plans show Precinct Properties is eyeing up two skyscrapers on the site of the Downtown Car Park building.
Precinct Properties was selected as the preferred buyer in September last year but the final go-ahead has met strong opposition in the past few months. Opponents want to retain public parking, while Krukziener has an alternative proposal he claims could net the council up to $250 million.
Ten days ago the Herald revealed Precinct’s plans for the 0.625ha waterfront site showing the carpark building being demolished and replaced with two slim skyscrapers nearly 40 storeys high, and a laneway weaving its way from Britomart to the Viaduct.
Krukziener said he would be putting the council on notice tomorrow that if the sale proceeds the society will seek a judicial review under section 77 of the Local Government Act, which says councils must consider all options when making decisions.
He said the council has an obligation to maximise value for ratepayers and selling the carpark to Precinct does not achieve that.
Last Thursday, Krukziener spoke to the transport and infrastructure committee, outlining his concerns about the sale of the carpark building and presenting an alternative scheme.
Property owner Andrew Krukziener has an alternative plan for the Downtown Car Park building.
He said the net proceeds from the sale of the building are meant to be no less than $100m, but claimed conditions negotiated out of the deal with Precinct mean the council will receive $50m “at best”.
His alternative proposal is to retain the carpark, build a free-standing concrete or steel platform above it, sell the development rights above the platform to build one or more towers, sell some car parks for the new development, and retain some for public use.
The combination of these would be worth a net $200m to $250m to the council, better than what is currently on the table, Krukziener said.
Some details of the sale in an open section at Thursday’s meeting show one of the conditions of the sale, a $28m hub to park bikes and scooters in the new development, has been dropped; and plans for a new bus interchange and removal of the Hobson St flyover and public spaces will be included in next year’s new 10-year budget.
This means they could happen anytime over the next decade, or not at all.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck says the number of shoppers in central Auckland has dropped by 25 per cent. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Krukziener said negotiating out the $28m hub and putting other matters in the 10-year budget is simply “smoke and mirrors” and the net proceeds from the sale will still be about $50m.
“They are trying to make it look better,” said the property owner, who was active in the society when it dropped legal action over Queen St after a settlement was reached in 2021.
Writing in the Herald today, Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck made a plea to councillors to not sell the parking building, saying it is needed for people who rely on affordable parking and when businesses are struggling with 25 per cent fewer shoppers.
