The Front Page The good, the bad and the ugly in Auckland’s city centre
Mar 27, 2026
Anne Gibson, NZ Herald property editor with decades covering Auckland development, walks through the city’s changing skyline. She highlights long-abandoned sites, bold new office and tall student towers, halted ghost projects, supermarket rebuild plans, theatre restorations, and lessons from Sydney. Short bursts on cranes, green design and how major transport projects reshape the central city.
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Four Decades Of An Empty CBD Site
- The Royal International Hotel site has been a car park with no building since the 1980s.
- Anne Gibson notes it's a prime CBD site beside the upcoming Tiwaiharatū station and argues a car park is not the maximum and best use.
Use Higher Rates To Unlock Idle CBD Land
- Increase charges on undeveloped valuable central sites to encourage owners to sell or develop them.
- Anne references past discussions about higher rates on abandoned sites as a policy lever to free up land.
Mansons Betting On Bold Spec Office
- Mansons is building 35 Graham Street as an 11-level speculative office with many car parks and a retained heritage façade.
- Anne highlights the site's ridge position offering waterfront views and expects completion around 2028–29.