KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's second-tallest building will transform the Auckland skyline in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011.
The 67-storey, $450 million Elliott Tower will dwarf every building in the city except the Sky Tower.
Auckland City Council yesterday gave planning permission for the 232m building. It will rise 55m above its next tallest competitor, the Vero Centre. The Sky Tower is 328m.
The building - the brainchild of Korean developer Dae Ju Group - will fill a site at the corner of Victoria, Albert and Elliott Sts, now uses as a carpark and a bungy operation.
The design, by architect Gordon Moller, who was behind the Sky Tower and SkyCity, will be narrow, with most of its facade facing east and west.
The glass and aluminium profile will house six floors of basement car parking, a three-level retail podium and a 57-storey residential tower.
It will have capacity for 800 residents, in apartments ranging between 64sq m for the studios and 445sq m to 590sq m for the penthouses. All apartments will feature a double-level, cross-sided duplex layout, with views to the east and west.
The design also features two sky gardens for residents and a public garden on the retail podium. Green features include solar panels, carbon sink plantings to counter any building service emissions, a co-generation plant for energy saving and efficiency, and a rainwater-capture system.
It is understood the equivalent of 500 fulltime construction workers will be needed.
