By Lloyd Burr, Stuff
The Seascape apartment project, developed by Shundi Customs and constructed by China Construction NZ, has come to a standstill. Photo: RNZ / Ziming Li
It was promised as a magnificent sculptural addition to Auckland that will deliver new levels of luxury and glamour to the city's downtown.
But all the Seascape development has delivered so far is a skeletal eyesore, a legal spat, and council inspectors checking it out every month to make sure it's not a danger to those navigating the streets below.
So what went wrong and who's to blame? And will Auckland's second tallest building ever be finished?
The project
It's been on the cards for more than a decade, with Chinese developer Shundi Customs and Chinese builder China Construction joining forces in 2015. Contracts were signed in 2017 but Covid saw delays and contract extensions.
Downed tools leave Auckland's Seascape an empty shell
It's called 'Seascape' for a simple reason: residents look out at a seascape, not just a landscape and cityscape. The views over the Waitemata Harbour are epic and every single apartment will get to see them as they are all north facing.
The entire Seascape project occupies four sections on Customs Street East (numbers 69, 71, 87, and 95-105) but the new tower itself only sits on numbers 71 and 87. On the eastern side of the precinct (on the 95-105 section) is Ballantyne House, a 12-storey building that's being refurbished and quake-strengthened. It will become a hotel. On the western side (on section 69) is a heritage building known as Britomart Hotel which will also be refurbished.
It will be New Zealand's tallest building behind Auckland's Sky Tower, and is only seven metres taller than the current tallest building PwC Tower just down the road from Seascape at Commercial Bay. It will beat the incumbent tallest residential building The Pacifica by 10 metres.
However, Seascape's claim to be the tallest building (other than the Sky Tower) will be surpassed by the 209 metre NDG Ritz Carlton Hotel building proposed near the new Aotea CRL Station.
Seascape residential tower in Auckland. Photo: Sharon Brettkelly
Figures:
- 187 metres tall
- 52 stories (48 are occupiable)
- 5 underground stories of basement car parks
- 2 car lifts for VIP car parks
- 5 penthouses ($22m each)
- 10 sub-penthouses
- 221 apartments (options are: studio, one bedroom, two bedroom duplex, and three bedroom)
- 5 stories of retail and offices
- 1 grand lobby linking Customs Street East to Gore Street Lane
- 1 swimming pool and gym
- Cost: $300m
The structure's strength comes from the impressive outer shell of criss-crossing steel which is called a form and lattice mega-brace. This allows better views. There's about 10,000 tonnes of steel for this part of the structure from three steel mills in China: Nanjing Iron and Steel, Jiangyin Xingcheng Special Steel Works, and Nanyang Hanye Steel. The mega-brace structure has been completed and the tower reached its finished height (construction lingo: 'topped out') in June 2024.
Finish date: Originally it was 2021, then it became 2022, then 2023, then most recently mid 2024 (which has been surpassed). There is no new date for completion.
FUN FACT: Cranes. There are two tower cranes attached to the eastern and western sides of the building. Both are made by German machinery giant Liebherr. One is a 280 HC-L 12/24 which has a maximum lifting capacity of 24 tonnes and a 40m radius. The other is the bigger 542 HC-L 18/36 which can lift a maximum of 36 tonnes with a 50m radius.
Meet the players
Developer: Shundi Customs. It's a subsidiary of Shundi Group, a global development company headquartered in China's Shanghai. It has a number of New Zealand projects including apartment project Te Tauoma in Auckland's Stonefields, and a proposed (and delayed) luxury hotel in Queenstown.
Builder: China Construction. It's a subsidiary of the world's biggest construction firm China State Construction Engineering Corporation. It built the Shanghai World Financial Centre (the one that looks like a giant bottle opener), Beijing's Olympic aquatic venue known as the Water Cube, and Donald Trump's golf club in Dubai. CSCEC has built dams, bridges, stadia, motorways, railways, airports). It's relatively new to our shores but was part of Auckland's new Park Hyatt Hotel in partnership with Hawkins Construction.
Architect: Peddle Thorp. Touted as one of Australasia's leading architect firms, Peddle Thorp has done a heap of high-profile, recognisable buildings in New Zealand. They include Wellington's Meridian Energy HQ, Waikato Stadium, and Christchurch's new ANZ Centre. Full list is here.
Why has construction stopped?
In short, the developer and builder have had a falling out. China Construction claims it's owed $30m(ish) from Shundi Customs and it's been coming to a head over the last few months.
Signs of the stoush were noticeable on site with the pace of construction work beginning to slow in May. By early August, the council had been notified that work on the building had been "paused". Then on August 21, China Construction had had enough and issued a stop work notice, telling its 25 subcontractors to leave the site.
The current relationship is a stark contrast to how it started. Seascape's website says: "To ensure Seascape is built with the speed and expertise required for such a tall tower, Shundi have procured China Construction with whom they share a strong working relationship.
"You can buy with confidence that Shundi will achieve this magnificent building within the stated programme"
It goes on to say "Shundi have chosen to engage one of the world's leading builders to ensure Seascape is delivered on time and on budget".
How times have changed.
Builders working on Auckland's Seascape tower were told to down tools in late August. Photo: Sharon Brettkelly
The Building Disputes Tribunal
China Construction took Shundi Customs to the Building Disputes Tribunal (not a government agency but an authorised nominating authority under the Construction Contracts Act 2002), which appointed adjudicator John Green to investigate. Green has been adjudicating property disputes for nearly 30 years and has overseen more than 1200 cases, including many relating to the leaky building saga.
His conclusion? Shundi Customs must pay China Construction $33,019,696.01 plus interest, according to reports from The NZ Herald. The law requires that amount to be paid within two working days. He also reportedly implemented what's called a 'charging order' which allows China Construction to apply for Shundi Customs to be blocked from receiving money from people who have purchased Seascape apartments.
The High Court
Shundi isn't accepting Green's determination and is seeking a judicial review of the case at the High Court at Auckland. The first hearing is on 27 September.
Stuff put a number of questions and an interview request to Shundi Customs but its marketing and sales manager Tashunka Bolton declined both.
"Thank you for reaching out," he says. "As you may have heard, Seascape's construction has currently been put on hold due to formal disputes raised with the main contractor. We don't have any comment to give as this is before the Court, and because all these information are confidential at moment (sic)."
China Construction is a little more difficult to get comment from. Their China-based head office and Australia-based Oceania office haven't replied to requests for comment.
Both companies have engaged top legal teams, with Bell Gully representing Shundi Customs. A Bell Gully spokesperson told Stuff: "We don't have any comment given the matter is currently before the Court, and because the adjudication to which the matter relates is confidential under the Construction Contracts Act."
It's understood Dentons Kensington Swan is acting for China Construction but is yet to confirm that with Stuff.
Architect Peddle Thorp's director Bradley Luck is optimistic about the project restarting soon.
"As far as we are aware Shundi are committed to completing the project and have their team working to that end," he told Stuff.
"As with all other challenges this project has faced, Shundi have found a way forward and we believe that they will find a way through this challenge to complete what will be a truly magnificent addition to the Auckland skyline."
Is the unfinished building safe?
There are a lot of temporary fixtures on site including vast scaffolding structures, netting, and two cranes. Given it's not yet fully glazed, the building isn't watertight meaning it's exposed to seaspray, wind, and rain. However, Auckland Council says it's safe.
Even though construction has halted, the safety obligations for China Construction haven't. The project is still inspected monthly by Auckland Council, led by its Building Inspection Manager Jeff Fahrensohn.
The last inspection took place on 30 August and involves them starting at the top of the building and walking their way down. They check everything to ensure there's no deterioration of steel, concrete, and other structural elements.
Some of the more technical inspections are done independently by specialists, including a weekly scaffolding check, a monthly fire hydrant check, and mandatory check on the cranes.
"There was some loose scaffolding we asked them to remove," he says. "But no real areas of concern".
How long will it be safe in this condition? At least another couple of years, Fahrensohn told RNZ.
"The building is designed to be open to the elements during construction. Five years would be a comfortable time-frame. The steel has a temporary coating on it. The exoskeleton has its finished coating which will last 50 years," he says.
"If things started getting really bad in terms of deterioration and safety, we would have to act."
Once the spat is sorted, he estimates it will take at least three months to get everyone back on site and construction restarted. He doesn't want to estimate a finish time frame.
Other construction delays
There have been a number of delays throughout the project's construction (which isn't unusual for complex projects like this).
Fire safety plans. In early 2017, the council raised concerns about Seascape's fire safety plans and asked MBIE to look into it in 2018. An element of this was plans for just one fire staircase for the top five levels, instead of the required two. The following year, MBIE concluded Seascape's fire safety plans didn't comply with building regulations. Shundi had to redesign them and apply for a new consent, which was granted.
Basement walls. Seascape features the deepest basement in Auckland, plunging 5 stories - or 21 metres - below ground level. They built these in 2017 by excavating soil around the perimetre, lowering huge pre-tied steel cages into them, and pouring cement into them. The soil essentially acted as a mould. Once the cement had fully set, the soil within the building's footprint was excavated.
But in 2018, six sections of these walls - called diaphragms - were identified as needing remediation work. During construction, the cement had been waiting in the truck too long and had started to set. They used it anyway and when the soil was excavated to reveal the wall, there were hollows and air bubbles in the concrete.
In some cases, reinforcing steel was visible, and in others, soil had mixed with the cement when it was poured. Consultancy company Beca was tasked by the council to check it out and its report found numerous deficiencies, concluding the strength and durability of the walls may be below building regulations.
Remediation work was done and signed off by the council in March 2021.
Has something like this happened before?
It's happened once on this scale before back in the 70s and 80s in Wellington. The Bank of New Zealand Centre (subsequently the State Insurance Building, and now called the Aon Tower) was left half-finished for 10 years. During construction in 1974, there was a standoff between the Muldoon Government and the Boilermakers Union (which represented the workers) and they walked off the job. The strike lasted an entire decade, leaving a steel skeleton languishing on the capital's skyline. There's a Facebook page dedicated to its construction with great pics.
- Stuff