Interest in key Council-owned development sites in the city has been positive, with three sites attracting interest from developers looking to invest in the city in line with delivering Council aspirations.

Council sought expressions of interest in August 2011 for four properties - Sonning Car Park River Rd, Brooklyn Rd, ArtsPost and Victoria on the River.

An update was considered at today's Council meeting, with details shared in a closed session due to commercial sensitivity. Council gave the green light to progress arrangements with developers to take the next required steps around three sites where suitable expressions of interest have been received.

The Victoria on the River (VOTR) site has received interest from McConnell Property and SkyCity for site development. McConnell Property, who is currently well-

advanced with another Hamilton CBD revitalisation project, Citygate, has expressed interest in the majority of the 4,800m2 site for high quality office and retail space with a public plaza linking the site to the river and walkway.

SkyCity is interested in a title to part of the land which is next to its existing property. SkyCity would seek to link this site along with its recently announced plans to add a four-plus star 135-room hotel on their casino.

Development of the VOTR site needs to proceed in line with a site Master Plan, which is currently being prepared by Council. This will reflect Council's view of how it wants this key piece of river-facing central city land to develop and fit Council's revitalisation strategy for the rest of the CBD. This would include an open public plaza area, access to the river and continuation of the high level river promenade.

The other two sites with developer expressions of interest are the Sonning Car Park River Rd and Brooklyn Rd sites. Development of the ArtsPost site is presently on hold following Council's September resolution the site be earmarked for arts and culture development.

Mayor Julie Hardaker says: "Council is pleased to see the early and positive progress being made in developing and investing in these three prime development sites. These significant investment intentions indicate strong confidence in Hamilton as well as making a significant contribution to our plans to get investment into the central city.

"Our focus is very much on quality developments which stimulate our economy, and align with how we want our city to look and feel in the future. Linking the central business district to the river is a vital part of any new developments. I am also pleased to see the latest occupancy figures again showing a decrease in vacant office space in the city.

"I look forward to future consideration of progress with these developments."