Whangarei hotel investment depends on referendum result

Both a recent hotel feasibilty report and a property developer have confirmed a Hundertwasser win will be the clincher for making a high-end hotel viable in Whangarei.

A new Hotel Feasibility Report prepared for Ngatiwai Trust Board and the Whangarei District Council clearly makes the economic case for the Hundertwasser Wairau Maori Art Centre to be built.

Property investor Andrew Fonagy agrees, saying his groups’ planned considerable investment in Whangarei is ‘entirely contingent’ on Hundertwasser winning the referendum.

“I have an option on a significant piece of land in Whangarei, close to town and ideal for top-end accommodation or a similar development. If Hundertwasser is to go ahead, we’ll immediately move into the next stage of the due diligence process and be able to confidently continue discussions with our investor groups and hotel operators. If it’s no to Hundertwasser, there is frankly no point – Whangarei won’t have that big concept and destination attraction that investors are looking for and we’ll look elsewhere. ”

Andrew Fonagy is an Auckland-based property developer and project specialist who has been involved in urban development projects including large scale civic and private sector developments, which include mixed use commercial and hotel developments.

His comments follow a media release today from Northland Economic Action Group chair Graham Dawson, who states “Whangarei and Northland desperately needs economic growth and additional employment. We need more strings to our bow. The Hundertwasser project is low hanging fruit in terms of providing an increase in economic activity. It would be great to see an asset that has been lying idle for many years being  turned into an iconic asset that help enhance tourism in the region with its on-going economic benefits.”

The recently released Hotel Feasibility Report states: Whangarei is not matching other provincial towns and cities and is running well behind in new initiatives to encourage private sector investment. Whangarei needs investment within the CBD and the Town Basin area to change perception about what it can offer both to the national and international market at both tourist and business corporate levels.

The report concludes that building the Hundertwasser Wairau Maori Art Centre will “…both enhance the attraction of the area (and) link well with the new bridge and walkway initiatives that have further opened up the waterside for greater public use. It is essential that all of these projects are achieved to create a new vibrancy within the CBD and to set the scene for further private sector investment.”

More information:

WDC webpage on referendum details here.
PNT-produced Referendum Fact Sheet here (pdf)
HWMAC backers Prosper Northland Trust website here.
Deloitte Feasibility Study on HWMAC pdf here.
WDC Referendum Brochure (comparing projects) here (pdf)
Hundertwasser project Facebook page here.
Colour Our City (Whangarei community artivisim in support of HWMAC) images here (Flickr)
The Story of the Hundertwasser project here.
Frequently Asked Questions here.
Professor Jonathan Mane-Wheoki presented video about the proposed project here.

For any further information please email yeswhangarei@gmail.com