Consents granted for old post office site
The transformation of Palmerston North’s decaying old post office building into an international hotel has reached a milestone.
The city council has granted resource consent for the project to go ahead on the site most recently known as the High Flyers night spot.
Josh Van Veen, the senior development manager and director of development company Safari Group, said the granting of resource and building consents for the 86-room, $50 million Tryp by Wyndham hotel project was great news.
“The design is looking great and we are all excited to get this under way at some stage,” he said.
The group had earlier indicated a start on building might have happened before now, with a possible opening in mid-2025, but those time lines had slipped.
At the moment Van Veen was unable to confirm when a start date could be announced, with many details to be worked through before that decision was made.
“All things going well, we could be into construction in 2025 with tendering later this year.”
Safari Group secured an unconditional contract to buy the 1905 heritage building in 2022.
The building had been empty for many years since High Flyers closed, and its deterioration was hastened by vandalism and an extensive fire in October 2021.
Its heritage status had complicated plans for the site’s development, with the new building planned to be created behind a restored facade.
The hotel project was expected to include a health spa, a gym, and conference and meeting rooms as well as ground-floor retail shops.
Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith said it had taken longer than expected for Safari Group to gain clear title to the site, but that was resolved.
“The consents are through and we are meeting them in the next few weeks” to discuss the next steps, he said.
The development was expected to be a trigger for the central city’s revitalisation.
Council chief customer officer Kerry-Lee Probert said granting the consent for the project was a big step towards the restoration of the historic building and its transformation into a high-quality hotel and mixed-use development.