Chalmers Properties arrived at the harbourside hearings yesterday with a large team of witnesses and a call to push ahead with the project in full.
The owner of most of the land in the area made it clear both stages of the plan change that would allow industrial and residential development were necessary to attract investors.
And the company that stands to make a considerable amount of money from the project did little to quell the fears of harbourside businesses that some, at least, have a limited future in the area.
Chalmers Properties began what is expected to be two days of evidence, with 12 witnesses covering subjects ranging from economic matters to heritage and urban design.
Counsel Robert Makgill said the company had been involved in planning the redevelopment with the Dunedin City Council since 2002.
Mr Makgill's submission made it clear the company was not keen on restrictions the council introduced to protect other parts of the city from harbourside development.
The council placed restrictions on the potential size of retail, office and commercial space to make sure areas like George St, for instance, did not empty of businesses if redevelopment went ahead.
But Mr Makgill said Chalmers Properties wanted the removal of a cap on office space, and larger areas for retail and commercial space.
The company also wanted flexibility in dealing with historic buildings and wharves that were "uneconomic, inflexible, and will likely prevent regeneration".
Chalmers would freehold land to assist the aims of the plan change.
Addressing the concerns of industry, Mr Makgill said businesses already at the harbourside would be protected by having existing use rights to continue their activities.
Noise was dealt with in the plan by a requirement for acoustic insulation, and parking by the council's commitment to provide public parking.
"It is accepted that some of the existing heavy industry may need to move if they wish to alter their existing operations as the environment changes."
Evidence the company would produce would show replacing less efficient land uses with more efficient uses should be the intent of the plan change, Mr Makgill said.
"Given the small average size of industrial uses, many can be relocated without affecting their operating future."
Chalmers chief executive Andrew Duncan said the company's vision was to improve public access to the harbourside and connect the waterfront to the city, with a vital commercial and residential sector.
Chalmers had already sold 25% of its freehold land in the area.
Mr Duncan said stage two of the project, which the council does not wish to go ahead with, was "imperative".
"Without a clear signal to owners, lessees, occupiers and potential investors as to the overall intention of the master plan, it will both create confusion and impact commercial confidence to proceed with stage one."
Asked by Mr Tasker about submitters concerns there was insufficient industrial land in Dunedin, Mr Duncan said the redevelopment area was a relatively small percentage of the industrial land in Dunedin, and there was still unused land in the area, outside stages one and two.
Traffic engineer Tony Penny said effective links to the harbourside from the council's harbour arterial route were essential.
He also suggested the demolition of the north-facing ramp of the Jetty St flyover to Wharf St.
With traffic instead using a crossing at Rattray St, Wharf St could be realigned further from the waterfront.
Auckland-based property consultant Alan McMahon said Dunedin's central business district (CBD) lacked good quality, modern office space.
The harbourside could be an opportunity for that to be developed.
Mr McMahon argued against having a cap on office space, and said he would not expect "a rash of development".
Architecture and retail consultant John Long said Dunedin's CBD was healthy and vibrant, something he expected to continue.
His opinion was demand for retail floor space in Dunedin would grow strongly in the 2006-2026 period.
The harbourside was a good location to increase the available supply of floor space.
The proposed 3000sq m cap on retail should be relaxed to at least 6000sq m to allow the area to take a larger share of the projected growth.
Holcim New Zealand, a manufacturer and distributor of cement from the harbourside, was the last representative of local industry to raise its concerns at the hearing.
The company was not opposed to the plan change per se, engineer Warren Gregory said in his submission for the company yesterday morning, but wanted to make sure it could continue its operations.
