Wellington City Council has signed off on a 165-bed Hilton Corp hotel and convention centre in a deal with a local developer Mark Dunajtschik it says will give the city low-cost, low-risk access to a facility that will add jobs and boost the capital's economy.
Under the proposal the council will pay an averaged $2.1 million a year to Dunajtschik under a 20-year lease on the convention centre, the council said in a statement. The costs will be higher in the first few years until they are offset by profits from events at the centre.
The council says building the Cable Street convention centre itself would have cost $55 million , with annual running costs estimated at $5.7 million. There is some risk to the city if the centre doesn't perform as expected, it said.
Dunajtschik will finance the development with the Wellington Convention Centre slated to open in 2017. It will be a 4,400 square metre facility able to host 1,200 people and have capacity to host 1,450 people at a banquet.
The council said Wellington is the nation's second-largest destinations for conventions, attracting about 15 percent of the total and earning about $140 million a year. It estimates the new facility will attract 64 new events a year, adding about $21 million to Wellington's annual gross domestic product and directly create 200 jobs.
(BusinessDesk)
Jonathan Underhill
Thu, 06 Nov 2014
Thu, 06 Nov 2014
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Wellington City approves Hilton hotel, convention centre near waterfront
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