– A development site next to St James Theatre in Auckland’s CBD is for sale, with consent for a 43-storey tower.
– The 1,638sqm property, owned by Relianz Holdings, was previously planned for a $250 million apartment tower.
– Ray White’s Banson Chong said the site offers a rare opportunity for large-scale developers and international investors.
A multi-million-dollar development site next to the historic St James Theatre in Auckland’s CBD is on the market for sale, already with resource consent for a 43-storey tower.
The site, hidden behind giant, graffiti-covered hoardings, has lain vacant for almost a decade and is being marketed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the centre of the city.
The 1,638sqm property, which sits across two titles at 1/304–328 and 3/304–328 Queen Street, is being sold by Relianz Holdings Ltd Partnership after previous attempts to build a $250m apartment tower were scrapped.
The vacant site sits in front of the St James Theatre. Photo / Supplied
Steve Bielby, of the Auckland Notable Properties Trust, in central Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Relianz, which is owned by a New Zealand resident Chinese family, had pulled the plug on the development, dubbed the St James Suites, at the end of 2016 due to funding issues. Another recent bid to revive the apartment block also faltered.
Ray White listing agent Banson Chong said the vendors had originally bought the St James Theatre with the site and worked with Steve Bielby and Auckland Notable Properties Trust to restore the theatre.
They no longer own the theatre, which is now benefiting from a restoration fund approved earlier this year by Auckland Council.
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The sale of the Queen Street property was not related to the theatre, Chong told OneRoof.
Chong said the resource consent granted to the vendors in 2022 allowed a mixed-use development.
He noted that contact had been made with overseas parties, including from the Middle East, Australia and Singapore, adding that foreign investment could inject a lot of capital and energy into the economy.
Kiwi company RCP, working on behalf of Malaysian developers MRCB, is creating the $450m Symphony Centre across the road. The 21-storey mixed-use development will sit above the soon-to-open Te Waihorotiu station, part of the City Rail Link.
An artist’s impression of what a 43-storey tower could look like at the site. Photo / Supplied
“We are seeking some either locally-backed developers or international developers who have the capacity to build a building like this one,” Chong told OneRoof.
“We need more big buildings to make our feeling at least like Sydney or Hong Kong or Singapore. New Zealand definitely needs to catch up.
“In terms of development the CBD looks exactly the same as 10 years ago. There’s not much investment in terms of infrastructure.
“We do have the city railway and hopefully that will bring more energy and activities to the CBD and definitely we need more big buildings.”
1/304–328 and 3/304–328 Queen Street come with consent for a 145m tower. Relianz’s previously proposed 43-storey tower comprised 400 apartments and 190 car parks.
In a press release, Ray White Remuera projects director Sam Jaffe said the site’s central positioning made it a compelling proposition for large-scale developers and strategic investors: “Development opportunities of this scale on Queen Street are rare.”
The listing follows news reports that the board of retailer Smith & Caughey’s has sought proposals from big real estate agencies for the sale of its flagship Queen Street store, just across the road from the Relianz site.
The store had its final day of trading on June 15.
Last year the New Zealand Herald reported that the Sky World retail complex, which is also across the road from the Relianz site, was still for sale two years after its initial listing, and that its owner was looking to seek joint funding to facilitate its previously revealed redevelopment plans.