Carlaw Park Development Revitalising City Fringe

Once the home of rugby league in New Zealand, the Carlaw Park site in Auckland’s Parnell district has for years been the focus of planned redevelopments, touted as everything from a retirement village to a railway station and, at one stage, the site for a new world-class stadium. But the site just off Stanley Street, bordered by the Domain, Auckland’s CBD and Parnell Rise, is today a thriving precinct of Green Star rated mixeduse buildings with long-term tenants – and is proving to be a catalyst for change in the area.

Nestlé NZ was the first to sign up for space in the Carlaw Park Business Precinct, moving its head office there late last year. They were closely followed by Datacraft, Sinclair Knight Mertz (SKM), the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, and Lollipops, the early childhood educators, who have each taken substantial space in the development. Other amenities include a Quest hotel with 42 Carlaw Park development revitalising city fringe By Lynne Richardson serviced apartments, a Wilson car park providing 690 parking spaces, a convenience store, a Japanese restaurant and the Carlaw Park Café – the latter following SKM to the precinct after being convinced to open another outlet by the engineering firm, who loved their Newmarket site.

Originally the site of a flour mill in the mid-1800s, Carlaw Park was home to a Chinese market garden in the late 1800s, before being sold to Auckland Rugby League which made the park its home in 1921. Grandstands and terraces were built, and the park hosted many rugby league world cup games that are fondly remembered by die-hard fans.

With the establishment of the NZ Warriors in the mid- 1990s, the park was mooted as their home ground, but health and safety concerns around the state of the facilities put paid to that, and the Warriors made Mt Smart Stadium their home instead. Carlaw Park closed in 2002 and was left to fall derelict, becoming an eyesore on the city fringe and a target of opportunistic vandals. The stands were demolished in 2007 and the site eventually cleared to be used as a commercial car park.

McDougall Reidy & Co and Haydn & Rollett Construction purchased the site in 1997 for $15 million after a four-year joint venture relationship with Auckland Rugby League.

Designed by Warren and Mahoney, built by Haydn & Rollett and completed late last year, the Carlaw Park Business Precinct was recognised in this year’s Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Awards with a merit in the category of mixed-use property.

4 Green Stars for Slider Building

Also complete and awaiting its final tenant is the socalled ‘Slider Building’ (the upper level appears to ‘slide’ across the lower level). Located next door to the Carlaw Park Business Precinct at 8 Stanley Street, the Slider Building is part of McDougall Reidy’s long-term vision of urban regeneration in the lower Parnell area, which has been neglected in recent years. The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) has certified the Slider Building with a 4 Green Star rating for environmental design initiatives, making it one of only 29 office developments in Auckland to have received the certification.

NZGBC chief executive Alex Cutler says: “It is great to see McDougall Reidy achieve a 4 Green Star rating for 8 Stanley Street. This rating represents New Zealand industry best practice in green building.”

McDougall Reidy managing director Greg Reidy says environmental sustainability was a major focus throughout the planning process: “We wanted to ensure that both our Stanley Street and Carlaw Park developments not only fit the landscape they were built into, but that their effect on that landscape be minimal.”

Natural materials have been used throughout the building, including native timbers, finished concrete and basalt stone. The building incorporates a stormwater detention and filtration system to reduce impact on the public system, a recycling storage area for separation and recycling of office waste, and monitoring of CO2 emissions to not exceed 12.5 kg per sq m per year. The building is strategically located near public transport and includes lockable bike racks and lockers to provide tenants with viable alternatives to driving.

With it being located on one of Auckland’s busiest streets, close to one of Auckland’s busiest motorway interchanges, and overlooking the Main Trunk Rail Line, specific attention has been given to soundproofing the building to protect tenants from intrusive noise, including a double-glazed façade which also serves to improve the thermal properties of the building and maximise daylight penetration. The National Library of NZ operates on the ground and first floors, and KiwiRail will take up residence in January of next year on the second and third floors.

The McDougall Reidy team are delighted that the redevelopment of the old rugby league grounds has revitalised what was a blot on the landscape of the city fringe, and that many other owners of buildings along the Stanley Street thoroughfare are tidying up and renovating their properties.

“From the start, our intention for the Parnell sites was to benefit the area as a whole by renewing what was a fairly rundown part of town,” says Greg Reidy. “The Carlaw Park developments have achieved just that and, along with several other upgrades to the area, including the Grafton Gully motorway project, will add value to all properties across this strip of Stanley Street,” he says.