“Work is underway and we’re full steam ahead on our latest project,” says Wellington Management Group CEO Tui Martin.

The Sharp Building is a five-story building located at the intersection of Taranaki Street and Ghuznee Street in Wellington. Earthquake strengthening, started earlier this year, has now finished and work has begun to convert unused office space into a 4-star serviced apartment complex. There will be 40 plus apartments ranging from one to three-bedrooms. With a brief to deliver contemporary comfort, the apartment complex is being designed by Walker Architecture & Design.

A five-minute walk to the capital’s entertainment district, Courtney Place and just a 10-minute stroll to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Sharp Building apartments when completed (estimated June/July 2017) will be another convenient short and long-stay accommodation option for both the corporate and leisure traveller in Wellington.

Wellington’s newest hotel, Park Hotel Lambton Quay, has been officially opened by His Worship, Justin Lester on 26th October 2016.

“We are pleased to announce Park Hotel Lambton Quay’s opening and delighted that the mayor of Wellington could lend his time to launch the hotel.” said by Park Hotel’s director, Alex Cassels.

Mr. Lester joined the local owners and developers Wellington Management Group and over 80 invited guests from the corporate partners, travel and tourism industry to mark the occasion.

Alex Cassels, director of Park Hotel, refits an old office building spanning Lambton Quay and The Terrace into a 137 room hotel. He said: “As Wellington continues to grow, more visitors than ever are coming to experience all the fantastic things we have to offer. This has created a real need for more quality accommodation in the CBD.”

Mr. Lester said: “Alex Cassels has done a fantastic job refurbishing the inner-city office building, which bridges Lambton Quay and The Terrace, into contemporary hotel rooms. The hotel has five different room types, all named after New Zealand birds, which look great and are sure to appeal to a wide variety of visitors.”

The $8.5 million hotel is centrally located between the bustling Terrace and Midland Park. It is set to become a must-stay space to for business or leisure.

“Park Hotel is an excellent addition to Wellington’s CBD, offering the growing number of visitors another great accommodation option” said by Wellington Chamber Chief Executive John Milford.

Park Hotel features 137 stylish rooms with complimentary WiFi internet, fully equipped business centre- The Pavilion and modern tiled bathroom. Guests have complimentary access to Wellington’s favourite gym, Les Mills. The hotel also features an adjoining restaurant, Sterling Woodfire Eatery & Bar which is positively reviewed by the local people.

Park Hotel really couldn’t be in a better location. It is within walking distance of all the city’s major tourism hot spots such as Te Papa, waterfront and Lambton Quay Shopping area. David Jones is just across the road, and the city’s best restaurants are all a short distance.

Park Hotel is bookable on www.parkhotel.nz.

Developer uses excess Wellington office space to capitalise on growing visitors

HAMISH RUTHERFORD - STUFF

A Wellington property developer is using the problem of falling office demand to help fill the shortage of hotel space.

Alex Cassels, the son of Wellington Company director Ian, is refitting an office building spanning Lambton Quay and The Terrace into a 137 room hotel.

Due to open around August 10 under its own Park Hotel brand, the project is set to cost about $8.5 million.

However Cassels said the refit will cost much less than it would to develop a new hotel, which even in an environment of record visitor numbers and a buoyant economy, is still not economic in Wellington city.

"Even in an environment in Wellington where you're seeing a bit of growth, certainly growth in occupancy and some growth in room rates for the hotel market, it's still basically impossible to build new."

Refitting the building was costing around $1700 per square metre, compared to Cassels' estimate that it would cost $7000-$7500 for new builds "before you buy furniture".

A report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment released in May claimed New Zealand needed another 26 hotels - or 4500 rooms - over the next decade.

Cassels believed the inability to build new hotels which would be financially viable meant existing hotel operators were in a strong position.

"If you've got a well located hotel, it looks to me like your potential for growing revenue in the future looks quite bright," he said.

"This site is close to the waterfront. David Jones is across the road, Parliament is five minutes away, Cuba Street is five minutes away. It's a great place to be."

The hotel will include a restaurant, previously known at The Pub, which will operate as Sterling, owned by Stephanie Meyers and Simon Pepping, the partners behind Egmont St Eatery.

The new hotel follows hot on the heels of Wellington's new Sofitel Hotel, however the internationally owned hotel's fitout of a building on Bolton St was far more expensive, at around $51m.

Park Hotel is due to open shortly after the opening of the new David Jones department store, and weeks ahead of the All Blacks Bledisloe Cup battle against the Wallabies at Westpac Stadium.

A strong accommodation market was in contrast to that for office space where there was "one story after another of government departments rationalising and downsizing".

A weak office market made it unlikely that the building would be converted back into office space.

"That would have to be driven by rampant, unforeseeable demand," Cassels said.

"It's pretty unimaginable that the office market will recover to an extent that this use would be invalidated in this location."

Cassels already operates other accommodation elsewhere in Wellington, however the new hotel would target a higher paying customer.

"The target here is to do mid-range accommodation, mainly short-term, a little bit of long term, but imaginatively," Cassels said.

His original accommodation on Manners Street charged $100-$110 a night, but the new hotel would look to compete with the likes of the Ibis or the Novotel, which based on recent hotel sales, appeared to be trading strongly.

"It was plain to see, they've been doing very well, and...down this end of town, there's a lot of chains. Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis, places you can find anywhere in the world," Cassels said.

"They're generic. What I saw is the opportunity to provide something that ticks all the boxes, but offers a little bit more of the flavour of Wellington, a little bit more imagination."

Adding rooms in the central business district would help increase foot traffic around the city.

"In our own way, we're helping the ecosystem. We need more rooms in the city."

Currently, when major events such as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo came to Wellington, guests reportedly were forced to stay as far away as Levin, while smaller events often forced guests to stay in Petone or Johnsonville.

"That's not the best way to showcase the city [and] it's a symptom that we don't have enough [hotel] stock."

The latest venture was driven by a building with occupancy, rather than a desire to operate hotels, but Cassels said it was possible there could be other developments if the opportunity presented.

"I'm not a hotelier, I'm not looking to bang out another hotel, unless there's A, the demand, but B, the opportunity to create something a little bit different, a little bit imaginative, otherwise it's a bit boring and a bit hard."