 
 The following article is from the National Business Review.
MINI-CANBERRA A GREAT MISTAKE FOR WELLINGTON
Developer asks: why have a government precinct on the fringe?
Turning Wellington CBD fringe suburb Thorndon into a government precinct is a big mistake, property developer and The Wellington Company director Ian Cassels says.
Referring to the increasing trend of government departments such as Defence and Environment setting up in Thorndon, he said it was a mistake to move office workers from the city’s CBD to its fringe. “The big danger to the city is the amount of building going on outside the city core. Thorndon is really like a mini Canberra its government only. “The one thing Wellington stands for is layers of different things in the same place. Why would you want a government precinct?” he said. According to urban development experts, the best way of developing a vibrant and diverse city was to ensure the core was constrained within a 400m radius. “If you keep within that radius you have an amazingly good city.” Mr. Cassels said. “As soon as you wander outside it you have got a sprawling Auckland or Christchurch.” Thorndon was on the edge of Wellington’s 400m radius, he said. “A city is where the people are; not where they aren’t”. A Property Council pedestrian survey clearly highlighted where Wellingtons CBD population was largely centered on the Willis St-Lambton Quay area. There was still plenty of room for development within the capitals core, Mr. Cassels said “We are still not a very intensive city. We have got plenty of places to intensify. You could double the population of the city.” Developing on the northern fringe away from the restaurants, bars and cafes would drain the energy from the core. “Its like taking the engine out of the car and leaving in on the side of the road.” Meanwhile, The Wellington Company was working on a feasibility plan for a 4000sq m “mega site” to be called Willis Central. The plan was for a mix of apartments, offices and retail big enough to spend a day in, he said.
Written by Suzanne Green - National Business Review, August 2007
WINNER OF THE
Gecko Press publishes ‘curiously good children’s books from around the world’...
|