Auckland Council issues dangerous building notice on CBD apartment tower - residents on notice to evacuate

Auckland Council has issued a ‘Dangerous Building Notice’ (DBN) for the City Garden Apartments tower in the central city.

The 16-storey tower is located at 76 Albert St, a block back from Queen St. An online floor plan shows 185 apartments.

Auckland Council field surveying manager Jeff Fahrensohn said the DBN was issued following visits by both council building inspectors and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) which found significant defects with the fire safety systems within the building.

“While measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of residents in the interim, we advised residents and the body corporate on Friday 12 April that under the conditions of the notice they must vacate the building by 12pm on Monday 22 April 2024 if the safety issues have not been adequately resolved by then,” Fahrensohn said.

“We understand this notice was distressing for residents, however our priority is to keep building occupants safe.

“We reiterate the importance of building owners and body corporates inspecting and maintaining their building safety systems.”

Daniel Young complained about the cladding on City Garden Apartments in 2018.

Fahrensohn said the council was closely monitoring contractors working on-site.

“While there are still a number of remedial works yet to be completed, a progress meeting held today provided us with some confidence that works to make the building safer are progressing well,” he said.

The building will be reinspected again on Friday when it will decide if the DBN can be removed to avoid the need for residents to evacuate.

In 2018, the Herald reported an apartment owner at City Garden Apartments was “disgusted” that controversial cladding found on the complex he was in had not been urgently removed.

The City Garden Apartments, Albert Street, Auckland City. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

City Garden Apartments was one of 25 buildings that Auckland Council found to have exterior aluminium composite cladding like the Grenfell Tower in London, where a fire in 2017 killed more than 70 people.

Council’s building consents general manager Ian McCormick assured those living and working in the sites were safe.

He said the flammable polyethylene cores in their claddings are not necessarily dangerous because they have other means of fire protection.

That provided little comfort to Daniel Young back in 2018, who then owned an apartment at City Garden Apartments.

Young said he didn’t feel safe in the slightest.

“I’ve got two children so yeah, it makes me sick,” he said.

Young bought the apartment off the plans back in 2003 - a decision he regretted at the time.

Bernard Orsman is an Auckland-based reporter who has been covering local government and transport since 1998. He joined the Herald in 1990 and worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.