A block on Hamilton's Victoria Street which will be developed. The buildings on the left border the park Victoria On The River and will become public park space. The buildings on the right will be developed into a 25-story tower. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
Locals hope a new, 25-storey dining and hotel complex will help to solve Hamilton's visitor accommodation shortage and transform the city.
Hamilton City Council has sold a prime downtown riverfront site on Victoria Street to Templeton Group, which is planning to develop it.
A council feasibility study showed the city needs 497 additional hotel rooms in the next five years just to keep up with demand.
Waikato professor of environmental planning Iain White said big cities should have major events and vibrant downtowns.
"Hamilton is growing so fast, it has grown an enormous amount, and it will probably overtake Wellington as a bigger city in the next few decades," he said.
A growing city required big investments, he said, like the one planned by Templeton Group for Victoria Street.
The development could see a tiered 25-storey tower featuring hotel accommodation, apartments, riverfront dining and entertainment.
A new hotel tower in Hamilton will overlook Waikato River and the city park Victoria On The River. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
Hamilton City Council had sold several properties to Templeton Group for the development, while retaining neighbouring land to develop into a public park. The land the council was retaining bordered the existing park, Victoria On The River.
Mayor Paula Southgate said the final design was still to be determined but one thing was for sure - it would be big.
"It will be Hamilton's tallest building, without a doubt. But what that does is change the landscape, yes, but gives 20+ floors to really engage with the riverside," she said.
Iain White said residents should not be worried about a changing city skyline.
"Cities do change quite a lot, there is a churn of land use, and it may just be a sign of things to come, we should be having land use which is more intensive in our core, central areas."
On Victoria Street, in front of where the hotel tower would be built, locals were positive about the change, calling it exciting.
"I think any work in the CBD is going to be good for future work and development within the city," said one local.
"Looking over the water, and a big hotel over the water, that sounds nice, right?" said another.
The lack of places for visitors to stay had not gone unnoticed with one local saying they had struggled to house visitors locally.
"When we've had people try and come for parties or something, if you want to stay local there's nothing around here really, it is really hard to get accommodation."
Templeton Group's founder Nigel McKenna said he wanted the development to open up and bring activity to the riverfront.
"We anticipate the new tower will in time become the epicentre of Hamilton's central city with a tangible visual connection to the river against a backdrop of premium dining, hotel and accommodation experiences. Our proposal makes full use of the site and will contribute to Hamilton's transformation to a big city," he said.
Mayor Paula Southgate said now the sale had been approved things would happen quite quickly.
"The Templeton Group are really keen ... it's a big build though, it's not a small building so it will take a number of years to complete but yes, they are ready to press go on the button," she said.
Templeton Group will now finalise preliminary designs, with plans to lodge resource consent applications for the tower development by the end of the year.
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