New life for CBD buildings

Hamilton’s Central Business District (CBD) is undergoing a significant transformation, with several key buildings being refurbished and repurposed.

From the rooftop of 500 Victoria Street on a grey day, the view is still spectacular, revealing a city undergoing a remarkable metamorphosis.

Looking west, there is significant activity at the city’s tallest building in Ward Street, formerly known as the Government Life building.

It is set to become a $100 million Pullman hotel.

To the north, work is about to start on Norris Ward McKinnon House, while the former Housing Corporation Building on the corner of Victoria St and Claudelands Rd is bustling with activity.

Wellington-based Primeproperty Group, a private investment company, is behind the refurbishments of 500 Victoria and Norris Ward McKinnon House.

Property manager Richard Tait describes 500 Victoria as a tired building, once frequented by government, Telecom, and ACC workers.

“This is a building where we want to get tenants,” he says on a recent media tour, emphasising the goal of attracting new occupants.

Referring to these buildings as ‘old’ would be a disservice, as they were mostly built in the 1970s and 1980s and Hamilton has other more historic buildings of note.

Tait uses the word iconic for 500 Victoria, which is a stretch for the 38-year-old building, and landmark for the 1985 building at 711 Victoria St, which given its two top floor exterior balconies regularly attract attention from down below – onlookers always on the lookout for anyone standing on them – is apt.

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But buildings built in this era with no major refurbishment are no longer fit for purpose for today’s workers, says Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams.

“The CBD is where businesses want to be and should be,” she says.

Buildings without the mod cons workers expect now will not attract anyone, especially those cautiously returning post Covid.

Things like places to store their bicycles and scooters, electric charging stations, showers, cafés, natural light, parking and the all-important high seismic ratings brought in post the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake which revealed vulnerabilities in tall buildings across the country.

Tait is not giving much away but does reveal a $4 million spend for 500 Victoria, one floor is nearing completion for an undisclosed tenant and three other floors should be finished by year’s end.

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