List of tallest buildings in Wellington
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This list of tallest buildings in Wellington ranks the tallest building's in the New Zealand capital city of Wellington by height. This ranking system, created by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat includes the height to a spire but not to an antenna.[1] The Majestic Centre is the tallest skyscraper in the city at 116 metres (381 ft).
Tallest buildingMajestic Centre (1991)
Tallest building height116 m (381 ft)
20 stories or more11 (2025)
Taller than 100 m (328 ft)3 (2025)
| Tall buildings in Wellington | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tallest building | Majestic Centre (1991) |
| Tallest building height | 116 m (381 ft) |
| Number of tall buildings | |
| 20 stories or more | 11 (2025) |
| Taller than 100 m (328 ft) | 3 (2025) |
Tallest buildings
The list below contains the top 60 buildings in the city at 50 m (164 ft) high and above. All are high-rises except for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ranked buildings which are skyscrapers.
The Majestic Centre, the tallest building in Wellington
The Aon Centre, the 2nd tallest building in Wellington
NTT Tower (left), Forsyth Barr House, and Bayleys.
Bowen House (left) and the Beehive
| # | Name | Height[2] | Floors[2] | Built[2] | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Majestic Centre | 116 m (381 ft) | 29 | 1991 | Office | |
| 2 | Aon Centre (Wellington) | 103 m (338 ft) | 27 | 1984 | Office | Originally opened as the BNZ Centre |
| 3 | HSBC Tower | 101 m (331 ft) | 25 | 2003 | Office | Is 94 m to roof height and 101 m to the Spire[3] |
| 4 | NTT Tower | 93 m (305 ft) | 25 | 1998 | Office | Formerly Mobil on the Park, Vodafone on the Park and Dimension Data Tower[4] |
| 5 | Bowen House | 90 m (295 ft) | 22 | 1991 | Office | |
| 6 | James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor | 88 m (289 ft) | 26 | 1972/1998 | Hotel | |
| 7 | Plimmer Towers | 84 m (276 ft) | 25 | 1975/1986 | Hotel/Office | Originally opened as the Williams Centre |
| 8 | 125 The Terrace | 77 m (253 ft) | 21 | 1986 | Office | |
| 9 | Morrison Kent House | 76 m (249 ft) | 21 | 1969 | Office | [5] |
| 10= | 113 The Terrace[6] | 72 m (236 ft) | 19 | 1988 | Office | Formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower; currently the home of Wellington City Council[7] |
| The Beehive | 72 m (236 ft) | 10 | 1981 | Office | ||
| 12= | 111 Dixon Street[8] | 70 m (230 ft) | 20 | 2019 | Residential | Tallest residential building in Wellington. |
| Maritime Tower | 70 m (230 ft) | 18 | 2006 | Office | ||
| Grant Thornton House | 70 m (230 ft) | 18 | 1983 | Office | Formerly known as ANZ Tower | |
| Westpac Tower | 70 m (230 ft) | 18 | 1978 | Office | ||
| Chews Lane Tower | 70 m (230 ft) | 19 | 2009 | Office/Residential | ||
| 17= | Aurora Centre[9] | 68 m (223 ft) | 19 | 1968 | Office | Was the tallest building in Wellington when completed. Underwent a major facelift in 2016–17 |
| Equinox House[10] | 68 m (223 ft) | 16 | 1987 | Office | ||
| Radio New Zealand House | 68 m (223 ft) | 13 | 1963 | Office | [11] | |
| 20= | Fujitsu Tower | 66 m (217 ft) | 18 | 1985 | Office | Formerly known as Caltex Tower[12] |
| Novell House | 66 m (217 ft) | 17 | 1975 | Office | ||
| No.1 The Terrace | 66 m (217 ft) | 17 | 1978 | Office | Headquarters of the New Zealand Treasury | |
| Vogel Building | 66 m (217 ft) | 17 | 1966 | Office | Was the tallest building in Wellington and the 2nd tallest building in New Zealand when built[13] | |
| Reserve Bank of New Zealand[14] | 66 m (217 ft) | 16 | 1972 | Office | [15] | |
| 25= | AXA Tower | 65 m (213 ft) | 17 | 1989 | Office | |
| The Freyberg Building[16] | 65 m (213 ft) | 15 | 1979 | Office | The adjoining 7-storey Freyberg House (2007) was demolished after the 2016 earthquake.[17] | |
| 27 | One Whitmore Street[18][19][20] | 63 m (207 ft) | 14 | 2023 | Commercial | BNZ's Wellington office. |
| 28 | 20 Customhouse Quay[21] | 62 m (203 ft) | 14 | 2018 | Commercial | Replaced BP House, which was originally built in 1968 and demolished following the 2013 Seddon earthquake.[22] |
| 29 | Charles Fergusson Building | 61 m (200 ft) | 17 | 1976 | Office | |
| 30 | New Zealand Police National Headquarters | 60.47 m (198 ft) | 17 | 1979 | Office | [23] Formerly FAI Insurance House. |
| 31= | Bolton Hotel | 60 m (197 ft) | 20 | 2004 | Hotel | |
| Sovereign Insurance Centre | 60 m (197 ft) | 17 | 1984 | Office | ||
| Bayleys Building | 60 m (197 ft) | 16 | 1989 | Office | ||
| Two Hunter Street | 60 m (197 ft) | 16 | 1991 | Office | ||
| City Tower | 60 m (197 ft) | 16 | 1991 | Office | ||
| Jellioce Towers | 60 m (197 ft) | 16 | 1965 | Residential | Was the tallest residential building in Wellington when built[24] | |
| Forsyth Barr House | 60 m (197 ft) | 16 | 1989 | Office | ||
| Pastoral House | 60 m (197 ft) | 15 | 1978 | Office | ||
| 39= | Rydges Hotel | 57 m (187 ft) | 16 | 2006 | Hotel | Originally opened as a Holiday Inn |
| Alcatel Lucent House | 57 m (187 ft) | 15 | 1988 | Office | Formerly Telecom House | |
| 41= | Quest on Johnston | 55 m (180 ft) | 18 | 2000 | Hotel | |
| Terrace Heights Apartments[25] | 55 m (180 ft) | 17 | 1999 | Residential | ||
| Stafford House | 55 m (180 ft) | 14 | 1977 | Residential | Originally an office block, now university housing. | |
| Avalon Studios | 55 m (180 ft) | 11 | 1969 | Office | Lower Hutt. Tallest building in the Wellington region outside of the Wellington CBD. | |
| 45 | Sir Robert Jones Tower | 52 m (171 ft) | 14 | 2019 | Office | [26] |
| 46 | National War Memorial | 51 m (167 ft) | 1932 | Bell and clock tower | ||
| 47= | 20 Oriental Parade | 50 m (164 ft) | 16 | Residential | ||
| Mercer Tower | 50 m (164 ft) | 15 | 1989 | Office | ||
| Public Trust Building | 50 m (164 ft) | 15 | 1982 | Office | ||
| Investment House | 50 m (164 ft) | 15 | 1977 | Office | ||
| Simpl House | 50 m (164 ft) | 15 | 1987 | Office | ||
| Willeston Centre[27] | 50 m (164 ft) | 14[28] | 1984? | Office | Originally the Colonial Mutual Life Insurance Building.[29] | |
| AMI Plaza[30] | 50 m (164 ft) | 14 | Office | |||
| Rutherford House | 50 m (164 ft) | 14 | 1975 | Office | Originally the headquarters of the NZ Electricity Department.[31] | |
| Sovereign House | 50 m (164 ft) | 14 | 1988 | Office | ||
| Castrol House | 50 m (164 ft) | 14 | 1987 | Office | ||
| Westpac Trust Investment House | 50 m (164 ft) | 14 | 1982 | Office | ||
| Technology One House | 50 m (164 ft) | 13 | 1987 | Office | Formerly known as the Renouf Centre and Terenco Finance House | |
| BNZ Trust House | 50 m (164 ft) | 13 | 1985 | Office | ||
| Guardian Trust House | 50 m (164 ft) | 13 | 1984 | Office | ||
| Optimation House | 50 m (164 ft) | 12 | 1979 | Office | [32] | |
| Pinnacle on Victoria[33] | 50 m (164 ft) | 17 | 2021 | Residential | ||
Under construction or approved
Demolished
| Name | Height | Floors | Built | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revera House | 50 m (164 ft) | 10 | 1990[35] | Office | Formerly AT&T Tower and Hitachi House. Demolished 2018[36] following damage due to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.[37] |
| 61 Molesworth St | 37 m (121 ft) | 10 | 1965 | Office | Formerly ICI House. Demolished 2016–2017[38][39] following damage due to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. To be replaced with a new 11/12-storey office building.[40][41] |
Cancelled
| Name | Height* | Floors* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ1 | 263 m (863 ft)[failed verification] | 63 | A high rise commercial and mixed use building proposed for Lambton Quay. Project was scrapped after the developer went bankrupt. If completed, the building would have been New Zealand's tallest.[42][43] |
| Lambton Tower | ≈120 metres (394 ft) | 31 | Proposed in 1991 for the Wellington waterfront.[44] |
| Wakefield Central | ≈75 metres (246 ft) | 20 | Proposed in 1986 by Chase Corporation on the site now occupied by Courtenay Central.[45][46][47] |
History of the tallest buildings in Wellington
| Name | Height | Years Tallest | Other Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLC Building | 45 m (148 ft) | 1939–1961 | 9 stories high. Was arguably the tallest in NZ when built |
| Shell House | 46 m (151 ft) | 1961–1966 | Tallest office building in NZ when built.[48] |
| Vogel Building | 66 m (217 ft) | 1966–1968 | Was the 2nd tallest in NZ when built |
| Aurora Centre | 68 m (223 ft) | 1968–1969 | Was the 2nd tallest in NZ when built |
| Morrison Kent House | 76 m (249 ft) | 1969–1975 | Was the 2nd tallest in NZ (to 1 Queen Street, Auckland) when built |
| Plimmer Towers | 85 m (279 ft) | 1975–1984 | Was the tallest in NZ when built, is 106m and 31 floors from the Lambton Quay side of the tower |
| AON Centre | 103 m (338 ft) | 1984–1991 | Was the tallest in NZ when built and is one of Wellington's most iconic buildings |
| Majestic Centre | 116 m (381 ft) | 1991–present | Is the furthest south skyscraper in the world. Was the tallest in New Zealand when built until the ANZ Centre opened in Auckland a few months later. |
