Work to start soon on Auckland's tallest apartment skyscraper

Resource consent has been granted for Auckland’s tallest apartment tower.

The 52-storey high-rise on Customs St East is to be built in the next three to four years.

Finished, it will be the tallest residential skyscraper in Auckland and one of a handful of towers with more than 50 storeys. 

The 187 metre, 2729sq m high-rise is part of a design to redevelop the Customs St East block between Fort and Gore Sts, with the main tower housing 221 apartments, including 11 floors of penthouse apartments, while the base of the tower will have four floors of retail and restaurants. The smaller tower has been redesigned as a hotel.

It could rub shoulders with another tall apartment tower to be built on nearby Commerce St. Resource consent has been granted for 222 apartments over a 178-metre 48-storey skyscraper with eight levels of above ground car parking and retail at street level. At the time resource consent was granted it was touted as being the tallest residential tower in New Zealand. Work has started on the demolition of two buildings on Commerce St and one on Gore St.

Development of the Customs St East site will also incorporate two smaller on-site buildings. Ballantyne House, an 11-storey office block on the corner of Fort St will be reskinned with a new facade and a hotel will be put in the middle of the building to integrate it into the new tower and the historic Rose & Crown tavern, which will be kept and refurbished at a later date when resource consent is granted. 

The site was aggregated by Waikoro, owned by industrial developer Tim Edney. Waikoro ended up with an entire block from Gore St through to the eastern end of Fort St. It was sold to Shundi Customs, owned by Hunjun Shao, a Chinese developer with extensive experience in Shanghai. 

Architects Peddle Thorp say the tower will add a new dynamic to Auckland’s skyline and will help to redefine the potential of apartment living in Auckland. Their original plans for the apartments were rejected by Mr Shao who wanted bigger north-facing units with harbour views.

"He was quite specific in his ideas and his generosity has resulted in bigger size apartments, says Peddle Thorp director Bradley Luke. "He knows what people want and has strong views on development. "From the start, Mr Shao wanted this project to be the best for the more expensive end of the market."

Marketing of the apartments has not started but Mr Luke expects to see plans for a campaign in the next few weeks for the three to four-year project.

Peddle Thorp worked on the designs, resource consent application and changes suggested by the Auckland Council's urban design panel for more than a year. "Big projects always have complexities but this has been a good development to work on," he says. 

Mr Luke says the design features public walkways that will connect people to the Gore St lane and includes a selection of apartments with double height balconies to maximise outdoor living space.

“The sharp angle at the top of the tower has been designed to avoid shading Emily Place and to give the tower a striking form,” Mr Luke says.

The apartments are at least 10% cent larger than Auckland Council’s minimum standards and include high studs of about 2.7 metres. Most have unencumbered views out to the Waitemata Harbour.

Work is expected to start on the site later this year. 

Peddle Thorp has a long history of designing inner-city buildings, including Metropolis, Lumley Centre, Vero Centre, Stamford Residence, SAP building, the Westpac and Ernst & Young on Takutai square in Britomart and the redevelopment of the Auckland Museum.

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