Panel 'no' to Soho Square scheme

The Soho Square design

A $200 million retail, office and apartment development on the old DYC vinegar factory site in Ponsonby has got the thumbs down from Auckland City Council's urban design panel.

But the company behind the project, Marlin Group, last night said it would ignore the panel and proceed with its resource consent application for five new buildings on the site, five cinemas with a total of 717 seats, more than 30 shops, cafes and bars, and a five-level underground carpark with 1241 spaces.

The panel, which has no legal teeth, said the proposed Soho Square development was too big and out of character for the historic inner-city suburb, echoing the overwhelming view of 222 submitters opposed to the resource consent application.

Ponsonby's art and fashion brigade have come out strongly against the development. Submitters fear a "shopping mall-type development rather than the small-scale, character-filled establishments on Ponsonby Rd".

In a written decision, the panel did not support plans to exceed the floor area by nearly 70 per cent and height controls by three storeys in places on the prime 1.3ha site fronting Williamson Ave, Pollen St and Crummer Rd.

The panel, chaired by Auckland University architecture professor John Hunt, had concerns about the width of public spaces within the development and the quality of a public plaza. Other worries were the scale and "monumental character" of the facades on Crummer Rd and Pollen St and the "inappropriate character" of the development in relation to nearby scheduled historic buildings.

In a written statement, Marlin said it was "surprised" and disappointed" by the panel's recommendations, saying it had approved an earlier proposal for the site.