A new 11-storey mass timber building—set to become NZ’s tallest commercial timber building—could rise in downtown Auckland after James Kirkpatrick Group lodged plans to redevelop 538 and 582 Karahgahape Rd (colloquially known as K-Rd) in the city district.

According to a developer statement, the new tower is part of a push to “regenerate the site from a demolished, end-of-lift building into a robust and legible urban structure that can stand for the next 50 years.”

James Kirkpatrick Jnr, the group CEO and Managing Director, said the building will rise ten levels from the Karangahape Rd elevation, have around 9500sq m of office space with two levels of basement for 48 car parks and “encourage a high-quality tenant in line with some of the green initiatives required for their businesses or their clients”.

Wood Central understands that the building will target a 6 Star Green Star rating, like the $200m University of Auckland’s Social Sciences building, which opened last year, with Kirkpatrick turning to mass timber as an alternative to concrete, reducing emissions and the weight of the building.

Click here to visit the website for James Kirkpatrick Group.