English theatre luminaries Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench are on a heavyweight list of artists and historians calling for the reopening of Auckland's St James Theatre.

Parties have just under three weeks to voice opinions about development around Auckland's $452 million Sylvia Park mall.

A $1 billion plan could almost quadruple the size of Mt Wellington's Sylvia Park and make it a new town hub.

A vulture fund offer which sought up to $50 million from the public to buy bargain-basement office blocks has been withdrawn.

A seaside development at Coopers Beach in the Far North is the latest coastal property victim of the downturn.

The Auckland Regional Council has been ordered to pay almost $100,000 to a developer.