Seedy faces hide progress on heritage development

A horrible stench that comes from years of damp and neglect is slowly disappearing from the 17 Victorian and Edwardian Britomart buildings waiting for a facelift.

A year after one of New Zealand's richest and most private men, American-based Peter Cooper, announced a $350 million makeover for the Britomart precinct in downtown Auckland, there are few visible signs of progress.

The area still feels seedy and the land behind the refurbished Central Post Office and Britomart transport terminal is a vacant lot, except for a temporary, canvas-covered pavilion that appeared this month.

But looks are deceiving. Years of rubbish and decay have been cleared from the inside of buildings, and many are now usable or ready for restoration.

More importantly, the Art Deco MSAS building overlooking Waitemata Harbour on Quay St has been turned into the headquarters for Britomart Group, a joint venture between Mr Cooper's Bluewater Holdings, property group Multiplex and heritage specialists Phillimore Properties. Lead architect and former Jasmax director Pip Cheshire shares the building.

Phillimore Properties director Ross Healy concedes the "set-up" period has been intense but necessary before building can start. Rules for the 5.2ha precinct have been drawn up covering everything from hanging out washing to noise levels in what is being touted as the most exciting inner-city redevelopment in New Zealand.

Healy says that if the group has learned anything in the past year it is that the concepts behind turning the rundown area into a low-rise urban village of apartments, offices, restaurants, shops, hotels and a large sunny public square are robust. Cooper, a pioneer of this type of mixed-used property development in the US, calls Britomart "a whole environment sitting there with all the character in the world".

Healy says the group has started or is about to start building work on a number of the historic buildings.

The top three floors of the Central Post Office above the grand entrance to the Britomart railway station are being fitted out for commercial office space, including the two rooftop turrets once used as mail sorting rooms that will give new tenants unique entertaining opportunities.

Healy and Bluewater Holdings executive director Peter Jones say work is due to start in June on restoring the first of the empty buildings, the three-storey 1896 Levy Building on the corner of Customs St and Commerce St. The building has been stripped internally to reveal brick walls, wooden staircases and beams. It is planned to open up the rear with verandas looking into the railway station plaza and put two shops at ground level with offices above.

Healy says the group has received hundreds of tenant inquiries for the historic buildings, but choosing the right tenants is essential for the success of the development. Food and beverage interests are clamouring for prime buildings such as the 1903 Wharf Police Station on Quay St and the Kiwi Tavern in Britomart Place.

The first buildings to be turned into apartments are Australis House and the Nathan Building on Customs St.

Healy says the buildings' high studs, spacious floor plates and north-facing outlook to sunny Takutai Square means they will be among the best apartments and priced accordingly. Architects Warren & Mahoney's plans have been before the council's urban design panel and work is due to start in about six months and take about a year to complete.

Another gem, the 1898 Northern Steamship building on Quay St, is in pretty good order and should be open by summer, with a food and beverage outlet at street level and commercial offices above.

Plans to turn the Barrington and Sofrana Buildings into a heritage hotel, perhaps in conjunction with the neighbouring Mercure Hotel on Quay St, are moving slowly.

Jones says the group has been looking at Takutai Square and six new low-rise buildings planned inside the site.

"One of the big challenges is changing people's perception of Britomart and these spaces are fantastic opportunities to put on events that bring people down here," he says.

The group has also bought the old Oriental Markets site and is weighing up how to incorporate it into Britomart.