KEY POINTS:
The councils' plan to improve the tank farm area of the Auckland waterfront has been released.
What do you think? Here is the latest selection of Your Views:
Landscape Architect undergrad
Development of the waterfront area is necessary, and I can see the logic driving this design. However, to me this is just 'a design' and if it goes ahead the tank farm area will loose a huge amount of character. Some or most probably see the tanks as a run-down industrial wasteland, but with clever design they could become a brilliant and unique landscape feature.
Trevor
This is a fabulous idea! Auckland is a city that has a horrendous waterfront, polluted with tank farms and containers. It is time this city gives its people something to be proud of! I sure am proud of this development. It is time Auckland becomes the 1st city in the Pacific. The idea that suggests the development exacerbates the waterfront is prejudice and I'm sorry to say foolish. The 4ha park will be a location that will undoubtedly be cherished by future generations and this project to me spells the Auckland of the Future, the Auckland I will want to live in!
Mama Mia (Auckland)
The artist's impressions look great but I have a feeling that the entire project will just end up like the rich boys' and girls' playground, where the rest of us are simple spectators. As a designer myself I at least hope that any apartments built will be far, far better designed than the horrors of other apartments on or near the Auckland Harbour, like e.g. the ghastly Hilton block, which at its best looks like a most displaced metalbox. Good design will surely help beautify Auckland, which we do need a lot of, to make up for the big mistakes already made.
JH
What a great start! As a city lets get behind this initiative rather than performing our typical (short-sited) bickering about its cost, the traffic etc. With additional investment in public buildings and iconic structures this could be the world class waterfront that we need and deserve!
Matt J - Ex-pat Aucklander
Gee what a shock. Never saw this one coming. Ports of Auckland and Auckland City Council refuse to open up space for an international standard stadium for most New Zealanders to enjoy but open up for yet another soddin' overpriced America's Cup village for the select few to enjoy. Stop me if I'm wrong but we haven't even won the America's Cup yet. So isn't this all a bit presumptuous. I'm a bit sick and tired of seeing Auckland ratepayers being expected to pay out for what will ultimately turn into an Amercia's Cup village only frequented by the posh yachting fraternity. Build a Rugby Stadium down there and give all Aucklanders and New Zealanders a facility they can afford and enjoy.
JP
Say no. Let's keep the old tank farm! They were just about to get rid of the rusting container wharves too, can you believe it? We'll have none of it!
Andrew
Why didn't they think about putting the Waterfront Stadium on this land, rather than downtown on sticks in a tidal zone? This development is well overdue on this land but is there any provision for a link up to Britomat's rail station that could eventually be extended to a rail line on to the North Shore? Would be typical of Auckland/New Zealand not to think ahead.
Geoff Hare
As an ex-pat of Auckland, I shudder to think that the proposed 20-25 year time line for the development of the 'tank farm', you words, not mine, the proposed design will be so dated that future design development will be required to be ongoing. Auckland is blighted with an abundance of kitsch marine architecture & design, and overstated 'kiwi-isms'to the point of embarrassment. If an international design competition was introduced for this development, surely this land mass could become one of the world's most recognised contemporary prizes for design and attract untold amount of people to the city. At the moment, the design is very tame & boring. Public space I applaud, along with contemporary commissioned artists to display sculpture and other art forms. Also, the future 'icon building' terrifies me. Please, make the development as a whole iconic. The land mass is there for the taking, make it work so the development does not become a future joke.
Erin, Auckland
If NZ really insists on this extremely unnecessary addition why on earth are they even mentioning the development of new shops and apartments? As if Auckland isn't bursting at the seams with dead fashionable housing developments (Cup Village?) and empty shopping centres (Sylvia Park?). If it is such a need, at least make it a large public park infiltrated with trees rather than an urban mess, only to be differentiated from the rest by the fact that it somewhat floats.
Stu, New Zealander
Great idea to turn an eyesore into a place where people will want to visit (including the visitors I have from overseas). Great waterfront cities around the world have excellent parks within location of there downtown, see you all there!
CP (Auckland)
You know it is amazing that this has taken so long or should we be amazed. The sad thing is that this is going to cost a bomb and typically making Auckland a more expensive place to live because we will all end up paying for it. This should have been done 20-30 years ago. Am I going to be cynical and sarcastic, hmmmm, well - yes and I am sure there are 70 per cent of Auckland who would love to have the Auckland City Councillors from the past 30 yrs in front of them to make them pay for this lack of proactiveness rather from the salaries they have been stuffing into their investments that we paid out of our rates. It would be nice if NZ wised up and made people accountable. Maybe Dick Hubbard could pay it out of his company profit rather than my company expenses. Hope the cost of your work out and cereal each morning are not putting money back into the Les Mills and Hubbard coffers. Let's start working together as public and truly test our councillors. Great idea but why should we pay heaps of rates as they will be charging the investors of real estate on the water front a heap in rates as well. Would pay to be a developer and have the body corporate rates as well coming in. So the councillors will be funding the bankers and real estate agents as well who keep pumping up the house and apartment re-sell prices. 21 million people in Australia and 4 million people in NZ yet the average house prices in NZ are higher than every city in Aussie except Sydney. Man NZ is corrupt as Asia.
Mike Percival
I hope part of the plan for the tank farm is a light rail/tram to connect to britomart/ferries - the densities that should be achieved on a site like this should make a tram economically viable.
Sucks
How much and how many year we ordinary New Zealanders have to pay for this "great" idea? It is really your idea? We pay! Why not your idea, you pay?
Mike R
Politicians are great at coming up with ideas but history tells us hopeless at implementing them. Set up a commercial organisation to put the plan into action. Auckland desperately needs to provide a link between the people and the water. It is what makes us different from other cities.
Dave
Make it either into a big green park for everyone to enjoy, like that of Central Park in New York or better into an -instantly internationally recognisable- iconic site, challenging the Statue of Liberty or the Sydney Opera House, thus becoming a Wold Heritage Site. The design of the iconic building/structure could be chosen from among the best designs of a competition for architects and other designers or interested people.
Chook (Auckland)
A grandiose scheme that with hit ratepayers pockets, but, marvellous if you are lucky enough to own an apartment there. Cereal Dick and his mates certainly intend to leave their mark on the city irrespective of the cost, but have so far failed to rise to the challenge and plant a tree on One Tree Hill.
Black or White (Wellsford)
Eventually I would prefer that Auckland have something like Brisbane's South Bank area. It would have recreational (indoor surf/swim pavilion etc etc), cultural, artistic and commercial facilities, but first sort out the transport problems! There is no point in building something that big when we can't get to it. I hope that this is not another example of authorities when, fearing they will not be re-elected, proceed with another white elephant to stand as a "monument" to their reign! Improve current services first.
Ash
Great idea. It's about time that the council has started to get a move on in refreshing and developing the CBD area. This will further boost our image of the city as it has been fading down recently. The council should scrap any idea of placing apartments their, we have far too many apartments in the CBD, and there are not enough people to fill them up. A nice clean green theme is perfect with a lot of benches, trees, plants etc. Stores, galleries, cafes, restaurants are a perfect match so long as they are not high rise, swamping any views of the waterfront, and should not fully commercialise the area so it blends into the main city centre around Queen St. They should fit in a lot of rubbish and recycling bins. The council should consider the traffic congestion and expand on the public transport system with rail. With this development congestion will only increase so they must deal with this issue while developing the waterfront, and perhaps keep most/heavy traffic away from the area.
Nigel
20-25 years to build - how long to pay it off? Where will the development contributions come from, from an already developed city! The construction costs alone will escalate over that period of time so the cost estimate now will be blown out of the water! Rates payers could be in for a large bill if this is not managed correctly - or do we just put up the cost of water.
adam
I would swap the position of the green space and the in-fill housing for rich people. A park to be of any use needs to be accessible to the public. It seems to me this one won't be. Also if you spend any time at the end of the tank farm you will notice that you are in the middle of a wind tunnel. It's always a force 10 gale out there and will be pleasant some of the time not most of the time. The rich peoples' houses would attract a higher value out on the point and they won't mind driving out there. You can leave a public access strip for bars, cafes and fishing. A park in between Victoria Park and the tank farm would create a vast green space that people would use. Oh by the way don't use it for organised sports. Leave it for picnics.
Sid
I may not agree with the details, especially the number of apartments, but please just get on with it.
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