Plans for a six-storey building on Wellington's waterfront have been unveiled with a councillor saying she is disappointed with the design and tipping a lengthy battle ahead before it proceeds.
The building, which will include five floors of office space, is proposed for a site which currently houses a motorhome park near the railway station.
A public indoor plaza will be included in the planned development and the Wellington Waterfront chief executive Ian Pike says it will be an attractive and high quality building.
Lead architect Nick Barratt-Boyes says the building will take its cues from its maritime setting.
"It is proposed as a sculptural, contemporary addition to this waterfront site, while being sympathetic to its historical maritime context, and taking careful consideration of critical view shafts and key views from the city and the harbour," he said.
It would boast base-isolated foundations and the design will make it the most seismically advanced new office building in the country.
But councillor Iona Pannett told the Dominion Post she was disappointed in the design and wanted more done with the public space.
"I don't think it is as iconic as it could be, and should be," she said, predicting it was likely to face opposition and face a lengthy struggle through the consent and court process.
A plan for a Hilton Hotel on the waterfront was abandoned after a lengthy Environment Court process and an apartment development at the Overseas Passenger Terminal took five years before it gained court approval to proceed.
Public submissions on the plan close on March 9.
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