Commercial

Oh dear, you're stuck with it

Early in the heady days of the 80s stock-market boom, enigmatic property developer Colin Reynolds had a grand vision - a New Zealand banking and finance powerhouse in the heart of Auckland.

Sunday, October 24th 2004

It was a time when Parnell was the place to eat, the waterfront was for fishermen and the height of fashion was wide shoulder pads, big hair and shoe-sized mobile phones pulled ostentatiously from a hand bag or leatherette brief case.

Reynolds and his ill-fated Chase Corporation spied a block of low-rise buildings surrounded by Victoria St West, Durham St West, Albert St and Queen St.

Four showy towers - today known as Qantas House, the Simpson Grierson building, Brookfields House and Durham House - linked by an awkward maze of escalators, walkways and public plazas emerged on the site.

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