Remarkables Park Ltd (RPL) has put its consent application for a convention centre in Frankton on hold while it seeks approval from a Queenstown Lakes District Council review panel for a major redesign.
RPL chief executive and director Alastair Porter said the company had made ''significant'' changes to the centre's design in response to feedback from industry professionals and its monitoring of convention centre projects in the main centres.
He expected to meet the council's design review panel within three weeks, and subject to its approval, would lodge an amended consent application by the middle of next month.
RPL plans to build the centre to the south of its planned extension to the Remarkables Park shopping centre, which will get under way later this year. The company applied for non-notified consent for the centre in June.
Mr Porter said the centre site had been shifted about 60m west to allow clear views to the Remarkables from the building and an adjacent pedestrian plaza, and the building had been turned 90 degrees to create space for a 750-seat auditorium in future.
It would have larger kitchen, plenary and exhibition areas, and its service yard had been shifted.
That meant the total floor area after stage 1 would increase by about 10% to 3000sq m, expanding to about 4000sq m after stage 2, and increase further with the auditorium.
The changes were significant in terms of the centre's functionality, but not its basic form or external appearance, he said.
''It will be a functional, flexible facility that can be expanded. We can simply keep clipping on additional functionality to the building.''
Mr Porter would not say how much the centre would cost, but it would be ''more cost-effective'' than the centre proposed by the council for its Lakeview site.
The redesign could mean a slight delay to starting construction next autumn.
''We'll have it for 50 years. We think it's more important to get the design and functionality right.''
