CRL denies causing theatre damage
The restoration of Auckland’s Mercury Theatre has hit an important milestone, officially being taken off the register of earthquake-prone buildings.
Yet, it’s still trying to recoup costs from another type of tremor _ allegedly caused by the tunnelling of the city’s $5.5 billion City Rail Link (CRL).
The restoration project is being done by owners Equippers Church. Executive pastor Matt Gregory said it had been hampered by a crack the width of his thumb, which had split the façade down the length of the building.
“When they were digging, there was some hairy moments, the shaking was quite intense,” he said of the CRL project.
Gregory said he understood that engineers had removed water from the ground in preparation for tunnelling. That caused the earth to move.
“One corner of the theatre had sloped, and we had to wait six months for the movement to stop before we could resume the restoration.”
He said the Equippers Property Trust had made a claim with its insurance company, but while the issue of liability continued to be debated, no compensation had been paid.
CRL chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney said the alliance behind the rail project had been contacted by Equippers’ lawyers, but had determined that the claim was “unsupported by evidence”.
“The Link Alliance reviewed pre-condition survey and monitoring data, [and] was unable to correlate façade changes to the timing and nature of the CRL works,” he said.
Sweeney said that no claims in relation to damage caused by the CRL project had been made in court.
That doesn’t mean it isn’t facing disputes. In September last year, Treasury reported that property-related claims had the potential to cost the Crown more than $20 million. It said there had been eight claims seeking compensation under the Public Works Act.
Despite the setback, Matt Gregory says the church continued to “love thy neighbour ... We think the future is going to be exciting. It’s going to be phenomenal to be able to catch the train and walk next door to the theatre.”
Gregory said the Equippers Property Trust’s plan was to restore the theatre “back to its 1910 glory”, reversing alterations that were made during the 1960s.
The most dramatic change is the tiered seating on the ground level being removed in favour of a sloped dancefloor.
A smaller “upper theatre” at the top is being gutted and restored back to a balcony with tiered seating that will overlook the main stage.
The venue will have capacity for 800 when it hopefully reopens in 2025.
Meanwhile the “dome room” on the top floor will be renovated into a snack bar, accessible during intermissions. It still features its original stained glass roof. About 10 years after the theatre was built, the dome was added along with an entranceway from Karangahape Rd. That entrance was later sealed off and is now Mithaiwala restaurant.
Meanwhile, the fly tower that used to have pulleys and rigs for lifting sets will have several floors added to it, creating space for dressing rooms and a control room.
Gregory said Equippers closed the theatre in 2022 after being notified by the council that it no longer met earthquake regulations.
As of two weeks ago, it achieved 70% of National Building Standard, which earthquake ratings are based on, and was removed from the earthquake-prone buildings register.
So far, the church has raised and spent $4m on the project, but it’s going to need a further $20m for its fit out. “As far as civic icons go, we are good one to put your money into. It’s way ahead of the St James,” Gregory said.
The property was bought by Auckland City Church, and its heads Bruce and Helen Monk, in 1994. It had been put up for sale by liquidators in 1992.
Gregory said all funds donated to the trust went to its restoration, and it would continue to be a hire-able venue Monday to Saturday once it was reopened.
“The nature of the church is that it is about people and community and we love that this is a legacy project.”
Meanwhile, the church’s congregation continues to celebrate its love of theatre with its services being held in Event Cinemas on Broadway in Newmarket.