'Bold' proposal for 25-storey Hamilton high-rise

A new proposal could see Hamilton get its first skyscraper, with a 25-storey luxury hotel complex planned to rise from the banks of the Waikato River.

Situated on Victoria St, the $100 million development has plans for a 200-room five-star hotel, apartment and branded residences and a rooftop bar with panoramic views of the city.

It would have a total gross floor area of around 25,000 square metres.

Kiwi high-rise developer Templeton Group presented its preliminary design for the Victoria Street Tower to Hamilton City Council on Thursday.

Hamilton Mayor Tim Macindoe said the images revealed a "bold vision" for the future of the city.

"A 25‑storey riverfront development of this scale will continue Hamilton’s evolution into a thriving, modern city, with a hotel, apartments, and a world‑class dining precinct right on our river’s edge."

Templeton Group founder and chairman Nigel McKenna described the building as a "vertical city".

"It is...a fully integrated mixed-use development with a complexity and depth of programme that places it alongside the most significant urban projects ever delivered in New Zealand."

He said it would be the "most complex, most visible and consequential" private development Hamilton had ever seen.

"It will bring international hotel brands to the city for the first time at this level, activate one of Hamilton’s most significant riverfront precincts, generate substantial construction and operational employment, and signal to investors, visitors, and residents alike that Hamilton is a city building for its future with confidence and ambition."

Resource consent plans would be submitted once Templeton Group selected the hotel operator from the brands under consideration.

Demolition of the existing buildings on the site was scheduled for September 2028, and the development is committed to a five to six year delivery time-scale.

Templeton has previously completed high-rise projects in Auckland and Wellington.