Sky City convention centre plans may go back to the drawing board

Plans by Sky City Auckland to transform the city's Federal Street into a pedestrian friendly shared space with extended convention facilities in air space over the road should be explored further by Auckland Council, the Waitemata Local Board, Auckland Transport and Sky City designers, according to a recommendation by the Council's Planning and Urban Design Forum recommended yesterday.
Sky City has agreed to invest $10 million converting the street into a shared space and open up buildings on both sides of the street with ground level cafes, restaurants and retail outlets.
Councillor Cameron Brewer, Chairperson of the forum explained "a plan to straddle the road with a convention centre extension covering 38 metres of the 190 metre street is described by Sky City as 'not a building but an artwork with a building inside'.
"Plainly, the design of this over-building is a key element in the debate and we've been made aware that the local board, while giving full support to transforming the road and opening up the ground level buildings, says this work should not be tied to any air space agreement or extension of the convention facility over the street."
"The forum agreed with me that we shouldn't rush into this. Rather let's just take a deep breath, keep the build-over on the table, and do more work on the design and the complete package. I would like the Future Vision Committee to agree that all parties should work together for a positive outcome."