Project name: SkyCity Grand

Height: 24 levels, includes a 320 room hotel and convention centre. Hotel is 14 levels, convention centre is 10 floors.

Construction: Fletcher Construction. Exterior cladding is terracotta panels, with evergreen glass, and steel sun louvres above.

Architects: Craig Craig Moller (a' la Skytower)

Renders:
http://www.ccm.co.nz/media/news/hotel1.jpg
http://www.ccm.co.nz/media/news/hot2.jpg
in context of city, from north west, with ASB building on right:
http://www.ccm.co.nz/media/news/hot3.jpg

Construction pics from August 2003:
from Albert St:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid73/pc9adde9dc7cfa5c9161562da27b68e26/fb7cfd7e.jpg
September 2003:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid81/p5d0d573b8faba40ba98a0e5f76bb5ea5/fafcab1d.jpg
November 2003:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p674083861f327e0c9b23d1d4021a967e/fa863d05.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/pde345f5452bdc27671b0a237e4655aa2/fa86386c.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p67d37898bba29f95a88e719b64e8bca3/fa863874.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/p896030b8fd2e22800f429ec383c01747/fa863d0f.jpg
From Metropolis:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid89/pdf67c508d984eade4e499fc9e107c478/fa7ab620.jpg


:cheers:

Cool sweet as bro. Here are my pics (in order of dates):

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One of those rarities that looks like it will turn out better than the renderings.

Always good to see terracotta being used in modern constructions. Pretty durable.

Who is going to operate the hotel?

Yeah, it does look that way, a very nice addition to Albert St.

It will be run by SkyCity

O.K. So SkyCity will own and operate the hotel and not contract it out. Hope the corporation has had experience in operating large hotels.

SkyCity is like a huge company. They already own a large enough hotel, a chain of movie cinemas including the SkyCity Metro (former Imax Complex) and operate the Sky Tower, Casinos, SkyCity Theatre, bars, restaurants etc. They also have their own cheerleeding team that performs at big events in Auckland lol.

So they should be ok to manage the new hotel.

SkyCity also owns and runs the casino and other facilities in Adelaide. The present 4 star SkyCity hotel is popular and very well run, and has 85% occupancy, the reason they are buiding the new 5 star hotel, in conjunction with the convention centre (comprises bottom 10 floors of Hotel bldg) :cool:

I know it's not been long since the last pics, but I was there anyway, so here goes:


EDIT (13/04/04): Images Removed

Took these update pics today. Thumbnails - Click to Enlargen:

EDIT (05/04/04): Images Removed

From Albert St, looking the other way, they seem to be adding something else onto the bldg on this side:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/pf49a6c48a55310f40c0ad93971d95c8a/f954d3e9.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p1ec9d7e4017e882d82899a2997d06d71/f954d30a.jpg
From the 26th floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel bldg across the road:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p0cff183a0a5959a5a5085a49e62ca82a/f954d268.jpg
The exterior construction of the hotel will be wrappped up by mid-year i'm guessing

Sky high and still growing
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/pics/r08skycity.JPG
SkyCity's new hotel tower rises above the just-opened $135 million convention centre. Picture / Martin Sykes

08.04.2004
By ANNE GIBSON
SkyCity Entertainment Group opened its $135 million convention centre on Albert St this week, but the hotel tower is still rising above it.

The hotel/convention centre has bookings up to 2007 and this week is hosting its first event as the headquarters for the Rally of New Zealand.

Above the five-level convention centre, Fletcher Construction is putting up SkyCity Grand, a 316-room five-star, 15-level hotel. Fletcher is building the upper tower in two phases and is due to finish by April next year.

SkyCity general manager capital projects Bryce Morrin said the total project was the largest commercial construction job in the Auckland central business district.

The hotel tower is up to level 12 on the ASB Bank Building side of the project, but is at the top on the seaward end of the site.

Morrin said it was being built in two parts because of constraints on the site.

Although the convention centre has opened, it is working in a limited capacity because of noise from the construction activity.

The Property Council is holding its annual building awards dinner at the centre towards the end of the month, when 800 people are expected to attend.

The first full-service convention at the new venue is Microsoft's TechEd in August.

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And what a Hot looking bad boy it is too! ;)

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Heck! :master:

Update (taken today - 16/8/04):

From the base of the Skytower:

http://img54.exs.cx/img54/6510/SCGfromskytower.jpg

From North-Eastern side:

http://img54.exs.cx/img54/7443/SCGHobson.jpg

Main Entry (opposite Skycity):

http://img70.exs.cx/img70/5733/SCGEntrance.jpg

The inside is looking pretty quality too. The Convention Center section is basically finished now, and i went in and had a look around. You can get up to about the 8th-10th floor pretty easily, but when i was there construction workers and security guys were starting to eye me up so i wasn't too keen on taking many photos. Anyway here's what's just inside the main entry:

http://img28.exs.cx/img28/847/SCGinside.jpg

Cool pics man. Its looking great! You won't believe me, but i've actually been on the roof of this building, lol, for real. Me and a mate went up as a dare, when there were no workers around, its a nice view too!

I hadn't realised until right now the convention center opened 4 months ago :| anywho..

Haha nice one, flyin. The view from the 10th floor was good let alone what it must be like from the roof. Was it easy getting up there? I might consider taking on the challenge one day...