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New Laneway for Auckland.
Exchange Lane, Vulcan Lane, Durham Lane and now Imperial Lane. One of Auckland’s best kept secrets will soon be revealed for all and sundry to enjoy. The Imperial Buildings in Queen Street (built between 1886 and 1911) were recently restored to their former glory and now house luxury brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton but very few people know that construction workers are very busy behind the scenes. Queen Street will soon be joined to Fort Lane by Imperial Lane – an indoor concourse that will house a bar/bistro and provide access to the upper levels that have been hidden from public view for decades. The entrance way off Fort Street will be 6m high and shafts of natural light will illuminate the space.
The Roxy is located on the first floor and will have direct access from Fort Lane via stairs or an elevator. The space has a high stud with the original brick walls. The majestic Queen’s Theatre has vaulted plaster ceilings and original timber floors with access out onto a new central courtyard. We have been fortunate to see this space and it is going to be a fantastic space for a restaurant – a glimpse back into the glamorous days of old. The Boathouse overlooks Fort Lane and features timber beams awash with natural light. Much of the space that hasn’t been mentioned is ideal for office space. We look forward to the finished product and welcome Auckland’s latest Laneway with open arms.
Looks like a great addition to Auckland. Will help bring to life Fort lane. Love how they’ve preserved alot of the buildings history.
They’ve been at work for more than a year now! Taking sooo long…
It is a mammoth undertaking. I walked past there last week and they are basically left with a shell which they now have to reconfigure and preserve all the old bits. I am sure that they will be finished in time for the RWC, at least I hope so
What a brilliant idea to link Queen Street with Fort Lane. This will go a long way to preserving our heritage and creating decent lanes in the city
I love these heritage projects and I can’t wait to see which restaurants and bars open up in there. Does anybody know what is planned to open in there ?
This is so cool. Fort Lane is going to be a completely different place when everything is finished. We might see more of this in the coming years.
Love the reference to the theatre that used to run there with the “Roxy” signage. Any idea when this will be done?
Another development on Queen St I wish had paid as much attention to it’s surroundings as the Imperial Buildings developers have is Queen’s Court by Aotea square (http://www.queenscourt.co.nz/home). To me it has no cohesion to the rest of Aotea square. The square should be surrounded by stunning architecture in keeping with the area (Town hall, Civic, St James). Look at Melbourne’s main square as a comparison (http://www.fedsquare.com/index.cfm?pageID=11). It is disappointing this type of careless developing is still being approved in Auckland. This area should be our cities heart, an entertainment district we can be proud of. This will be another development will be wondering in a few years time how the hell did it end up there. So many better things could be placed there.
Queen’s Court is a work in progress, the plan is to eventually develop apartments and offices around it which should improve the area. Personally I prefer this proposal to what is currently standing there at the moment. It is all about demand and right nj=ow there isn’t much of it
As for Imperial Lane, a fantastic addition to the city
I thought it may be a work in progress as I couldn’t see a developer not trying to cash in on the location. That could make it worse if they build up too high to block out more sunshine on Aotea square.