The (quite literal) rise and (economic) fall of the project has been well documented. And the high-profile location makes it a visible reminder of the risks of property development and the money required to do it. Inaction has dragged out so long that paint has started flaking off the structure and neighbours are complaining<\/a> about falling debris. Construction began way back in 2017. Now, nearly a decade on, with Seascape up for sale<\/a> and receivers hopeful of finding a buyer, what could the future hold for the troubled tower? The Spinoff has some ideas.<\/p>\n The drop-off point for the North Shore gondola. The second harbour crossing<\/a> no one talks about could end here.<\/p>\n Laser strike. Imagine the possibilities.<\/p>\n Another Chemist Warehouse. Seascape is located in the heart of the CBD, an area that currently has only two of Auckland\u2019s grand total of 38 (three more than The Spinoff\u2019s last count<\/a> in December). If Alex Casey\u2019s projections<\/a> are correct, the chain\u2019s current rapid growth trajectory suggests New Zealand will have 4,624 stores by 2033. Seascape could be among them. Just imagine that piercing tower rendered in that aggressively optimistic shade of yellow. The Australian company has already taken over landmark locations like Smith & Caughey\u2019s Newmarket and Geoff\u2019s Emporium on Dominion Road. Could the ghost tower join them?<\/p>\n A new parliament. Rather than scuttling to work in The Beehive, MPs and staffers could crawl to the building formerly known as Seascape, now dubbed The Termite Mound instead, having relocated from Wellington to New Zealand\u2019s former capital, escaping memories of sewage<\/a> and roadworks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some more Wilson carparking. After all, that\u2019s what\u2019s happening to another notoriously abandoned development. Food Alley and the Yates building were demolished to make way for a 159-metre tower<\/a> that never materialised. Instead, the razed block, which has sat empty for years<\/a>, will be transformed into 67 carparks<\/a>. If Seascape followed suit, it could become Auckland\u2019s tallest parking building. Its location on prime real estate is something shared by other parking buildings in the city, including the one on the corner of Victoria Street East and Kitchener Street, and the Elliot Street carpark. And lobbyists want more<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rainbow\u2019s End Metro. New Zealand has an opportunity to one-up our rivals across the Tasman. With the Seascape tower designed to be 187 metres tall, transforming it into an integrated amusement park would eclipse the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s current tallest ride, the 39-storey \u201cThe Giant Drop\u201d at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.. Rai and Bow<\/a> could have smoko with the employees of Showgirls, another iconic entertainment venue.<\/p>\n A giant rode cone. It\u2019s more or less the right shape. And the road cone is the unofficial symbol of Auckland.<\/p>\n New home for the Waiwera Hot Pools\u2019 hydroslides. We\u2019re still mourning the demise of the popular water park<\/a>, which entertained 350,000 people a year in its heyday. The altitude of the Seascape tower could provide not just a new home for The Black Hole, Twister and Speedslide, but an adrenaline-surging increase in elevation that would be definitely 100% safe and family friendly. \u201cWaiwera Hot Pools had a slide called Bob\u2019s Mistake, named after a design error which saw its tube terminating a metre or two above the pool below,\u201d notes hydroslide aficionado Hayden Donnell. \u201cThe Seascape Tower offers a unique opportunity to expand that much-missed mistake to 150 metres or more.\u201d Although where those famous Waiwera slides are now remains to be seen. The park was abandoned<\/a> by its billionaire owner \u2013 not unlike Seascape \u2013 with new owners planning<\/a> a wellness complex (think reflexology rather than hydroslides).\u00a0<\/p>\n A second Warriors Bar. If that long-debated<\/a> waterfront stadium<\/a> ever does materialise<\/a>, the tower would be in prime position to put the \u201cup\u201d in \u201cup the Wahs\u201d, expanding Full Time\u2019s footprint<\/a>. \u201cThey could even name the elevator the Warriors,\u201d suggests \u0100tea Editor Liam R\u0101tana. \u201cSo when you leave it can let you down too.\u201d<\/p>\n Auckland\u2019s Eiffel Tower. The Parisian landmark is \u201cbasically scaffolding\u201d, notes deputy editor Alice Neville \u2013 much like Seascape.<\/p>\n A vertical garden. Very solarpunk.<\/p>\n Another Yogi\u2019s Haircut. These have been popping up around Auckland with surprising pace. One more can\u2019t hurt.<\/p>\n Offices with a view for Wellington city councillors. Their new office in the capital reportedly boasts views of a \u201cneighbouring wall<\/a>\u201d and a carpark. Mayor Andrew Little isn\u2019t stoked<\/a> about it. Surely there\u2019s something more scenic available in the 56-storey Seascape tower? \u201cLittle has worried that visiting dignitaries won\u2019t get a view of Wellington\u2019s harbour,\u201d says Donnell. \u201cThis solution doesn\u2019t just fix his lack of a view; it gives the visitors a more impressive harbour to look at. Everybody wins.\u201d<\/p>\n Viv Beck<\/a>\u2019s bolt-hole. Great views of the central city and its much maligned streets.<\/p>\n Auckland\u2019s version of the Pompidou Centre. Its inner workings are laid bare like an autopsy of engineering might, presenting a disruptive vision to the city, one that stirs chatter and debate. It\u2019s a description of the famous Parisian building and one that could also be applied to T\u0101maki Makaurau\u2019s unfinished tower.<\/p>\n Permanent tomb for Auckland\u2019s giant Santa Claus. \u201cAuckland\u2019s greatest mistakes, ranked: three, bulldozing an entire suburb to make way for a motorway; two, not building Robbie\u2019s rapid rail<\/a>; and one, giving up our giant Santa,\u201d argues Donnell. \u201cThe Seascape Tower\u2019s frightening hollow corpse is winking and beckoning us to right the wrongs of the past.\u201d Aucklanders are divided as to whether he (the Santa) was \u201ccreepy\u201d or just misunderstood. Regardless, he\u2019s retired now. The National Transport and Toy Museum paid a dollar<\/a> for the statue. Much like the ghosts of Christmas past, the ghostly tower could be transformed into a mausoleum for the Queen Street icon. A big glass sarcophagus would preserve him in perpetuity, like Russia did with their icon of material distribution, Vladimir Lenin.<\/p>\n Wayne Brown\u2019s office. A mayor should have a panoptical vantage of his purview. \u201cWhy settle for the 27th floor when you could be on the 56th? That\u2019s more than twice as high,\u201d points out R\u0101tana. \u201cWhich I\u2019m sure Mayor Brown would love.\u201d Brown could marvel at the City Rail Link, take in the glittering waters of the Waitemat\u0101, and see all the way across to the deservedly upset<\/a> residents of Devonport, where he thinks<\/a> there needs to be more density and more people.<\/p>\n A daring new canvas for Pork, Fysio <\/a>and Jandal<\/a>. If they haven\u2019t been there already.<\/p>\nPark and ride. (Composite by The Spinoff. Image: Peddlethorp)<\/p>\n
Thrilling. (Composite by The Spinoff. Image: Peddlethorp)<\/p>\n
A not-so-little mayoral office? (Composite by The Spinoff. Images: Peddlethorp, Wellington, Andrewlittle.nz).<\/p>\n
RIP. (Composite by The Spinoff. Images: Peddlethorp, Spinoff).<\/p>\n