Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Police are treating the cause of the fire that destroyed a warehouse in Wellington's Shelly Bay as suspicious.
The blaze broke out at the site of a controversial housing development before 3am on Wednesday.
Flames engulfed the sawtooth-shaped building on the Miramar Peninsula leaving only blackened and smoking vertical beams.
Asbestos fears prompted Fire and Emergency to warn residents to keep doors and windows closed, although it said it was a low risk and a brisk southerly blew smoke away from nearby houses.
Police said it wasn't possible to determine the cause of the fire at this stage due to the extent of damage to the building.
They were treating it as suspicious because the building was unoccupied when the fire broke out and power was not connected.
A scene examination was continuing. Shelly Bay Road was closed on Thursday and people were asked to avoid the area.
The disputed development has seen the subject of a number of court battles. It has also been opposed by the former mayor Andy Foster and film director Peter Jackson.
Mau Whenua, a group within Taranaki Whānui, occupied the land for 16 months maintaining the sale of the land was not legitimate. The two groups held talks and began a unification and healing process in April 2022.