Waikato Times: Here’s who owns city’s golden mile as countdown begins for showcase street

Originally published in the Waikato Times, Saturday 9 November 2024, including table of building owners not reproduced here.

By Richard Walker.

The Waikato Regional Theatre is starting to take shape, and Mike Neale says that comes with a challenge. PHOTO: Mark Taylor / Waikato Times.

It’s time for landlords of shabby central city buildings to up their game as the Waikato Regional Theatre brings new life to the city’s showcase street.

The 600m stretch of Victoria St from Hood St to Ward St will be galvanised by the crowds drawn to the theatre, due to open next year, and it’s up to landlords and business owners to grasp the opportunity.

Business owners need to start thinking now about what their offering will be, says NAI Harcourts managing director Mike Neale.

“There’s no point in trying to compete directly with whoever operates in there [the theatre]. You need to have a different, better, independent offering, in my view.”

On a walk along the south end of Victoria St, Neale praises some landlords for the work they’ve done, while pointing to other buildings needing basic streetfront maintenance, the likes of spraying weeds, or patching up crumbling concrete. A shabby, uninviting door to a building draws his attention. That’s down to the landlord, he says.

But his biggest serve is for the city council. Tired streetscapes are in his sights.

“They [the council] are really happy and they're excited and they say, isn't it great what's going on?,” he says. “But, council, you need to do your bit.”

He points to a tripping hazard, to a rubbish bin on a lean, and to badly weathered council benches.

“I mean I look at those things and they look awful,” he says, indicating concrete seats on the corner of Victoria and Hood Sts.

The council has a role to play, when $80 million is being spent on the theatre, and when a nearby landlord is spending hundreds of thousands on a refurbishment.

“If people see council doing their bit, they go, ‘Oh, now my building looks a bit shabby, I'd better go and do that’.”

Buildings on the south end of Victoria St are shared among dozens of owners, notably including the city council and the theatre trust, along with Stark Property, Tainui Group Holdings and some well-known names from the hospo scene.

The SkyCity building is a heavyweight, with a capital value of $76,620,000, according to a council database, while Tainui’s Novotel building has a capital value of $54,940,000.

More modest two-storey buildings might come in around the $2 million mark.

The cluster of city council-owned buildings beside Victoria on the River, according to the database, have a combined capital value of $7.4 million.

Neale pays tribute to Isaac Phua, an Auckland landlord, who has invested heavily in a Victoria St building across the street from the theatre.

Phua says he bought the building at No 151 in 2016, knowing it would need a tidy-up.

“When we heard that the building of the theatre was going to go ahead, we started looking at what we can do to the building, to improve it,” he says.

This Victoria St building has had a $700,000 refurbishment in preparation for the theatre’s arrival. PHOTO: Mark Taylor / Waikato Times

They used local architects Chow:Hill in a refurbishment that has so far cost almost $700,000.

There is one streetfront cafe space still to fill, an open plan design that will open to the lift lobby as well as the streetfront.

“I think that whole part of town is going to get an uplift in the next couple of years,” Phua says.

Neale also pays tribute to local developer Matt Stark for opening Riverbank Lane onto Victoria on the River.

“We're lucky, we've got some really good quality developers that actually care about the city.”

When it comes to the streetscape, Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams echoes Neale’s sentiments. The footpaths are old and tired, she says, and so is the street furniture.

“In saying that, I also think there are some property owners with some old, tired buildings that could use some work and love.”

Mayor Paula Southgate acknowledges work is needed, but says there is limited money available after budgets were cut in the latest Long Term Plan.

“Everything took a bit of a clip, and this is no exception.”

Concrete seats on the Hood St-Victoria St corner are looking shabby. PHOTO: Mark Taylor / Waikato Times

Embassy Park is set for improvement, as is the footpath outside the theatre, timed for the theatre’s opening.

“We haven't got the budget for the whole rework of Embassy Park right down to the river, but the precinct in front of the theatre will definitely be looking magnificent.

“Meanwhile, with a very minimal budget, we're doing the best we can to deal with those street furniture issues [and] the lighting.”

She says the front of the museum is also getting a refresh, and Hood St is being replanted and revitalised.

“So we're actually doing quite a lot, but we don't disagree that this work is needed.”

Williams says attention is turning overseas to investment in the “night time economy”. That goes beyond the hospo offerings to the likes of transport and lighting.

“That's probably a key area that I see for investment, particularly for council, getting a better understanding of what a night-time economy looks like.”

There could be a greater role for the weekend rideshare Flex offering, and park and rides could be considered.

There’s also the opportunity to make a feature of lighting. “You can take a pretty average looking area, put some beautiful festoon lighting around, and it immediately lifts it”.

Take note, council and building owners: the theatre is coming, ready or not.