Don't Underestimate Quay Street Site for National Exhibition and Conference Centre says Ngati Whatua

Don’t Underestimate Quay Street Site for National Exhibition and Conference Centre says Ngati Whatua

A bid to have the Government’s proposed national exhibition and conference centre built on three flat hectares of derelict land next to the Vector Arena should be taken very seriously according to a consortium that will present its Expression of Interest to Government in June.

The consortium lead by Ngati Whatua argues consultant reports have curiously dismissed the land and instead have favoured options more aligned with Auckland City Council’s own plans.

Chief Executive of Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board Tiwana Tibble says any robust appraisal would have to consider a CBD site that is flat and would allow for an exhibition space of around 29,000 square metres of clear span space without columns on a single level.

He says the site also has easy access to a range of four and five star hotels, and restaurants, bars and cafes at Britomart, the city, Parnell, Newmarket and Mission Bay.

“It is not hard to imagine conference goers strolling down to the nearby ferry terminal to take a very enjoyable ferry ride to Devonport to enjoy an evening at a restaurant with lights twinkling across the harbour.

“I can see international visitors coming to a conference and then talking about a walk or bike ride along Tamaki Drive to enjoy the beauty of the Waitemata views as a highlight of their visit.”

Tibble says co-location alongside the Vector Arena could create interesting efficiencies. He also points to easy access from and to the motorway system along the port off ramp which would allow service vehicles loading and unloading at the exhibition centre to avoid clogging Queen Street and other central city streets.

He says an exhibition centre at this site would provide one point of an anchor for the whole of downtown Auckland. There would be a golden mile of vitality from the exhibition centre and arena, to hotels, restaurants at nearby Britomart, railway stations, bus connections, ferries, the cruise ship terminal, and the other point of the anchor at Viaduct Basin and the Maritime Museum - all within a 15 minute stroll.

“That’s why we are calling our bid the CBD Anchor Bid because that is the effect it would have on the city. It creates a bookend and concentrates the focus on enlivening still further the activity along Quay Street to the Viaduct Basin and in lower Queen Street.

“One of the very exciting possibilities is having an Exhibition Rail Station as part of the complex allowing people to take a train and to be quickly in Queen Street or shopping in Newmarket or at a game at Eden Park.

Tibble says once the preferred site is locked down then Auckland has choices – should its exhibition centre be a strong iconic statement or should it be a more subdued functional centre that blends rather than makes an external statement?

“We are saying to the Government there is an alternative to jamming our nation’s exhibition and conference showcase around the back of the Aotea Centre or across the road from a casino.

“The CBD Anchor site will better distribute the economic benefit that around 22,000 visitors a year will bring the city.”
Tibble says those who are lobbying for other sites refer to the Quay Street site as not having hotels within proximity and having ‘complexities’.

“There are hotels close by but we would rather see the economic benefit cascading throughout the city. For example if the criteria in the Expression of Interest document of a 10 minute walk to a hotel was the only measure then the Langham Hotel would be out of the question, however any Aucklander can see that someone staying at the Langham would easily get to an exhibition centre near the Vector Arena along Symonds Street or Grafton.

He says as he understands it the Government’s intention is for there to be widespread economic benefit not benefit concentrated in a small pocket.

“I don’t know about you, but if I was the manager of the Hyatt and I had the opportunity to capture a regular piece of a 22,000 person visitor market, I would probably put on transport to and from the venue.

“We have also talked with exhibition centre managers around the Pacific and found that when a facility is built hotels tend to set up nearby – that is common sense.”

Tibble says as far as complexity is concerned that one is a mystery. At present the derelict land where he suggests the new centre could be, is leased to Auckland City Council which is paying rent for it while keeping it derelict.

“I can’t see this site having any more complexities than an attempt to put a walkway over Hobson Street or cobble a building into the Aotea Centre area.