Delay blamed on ‘industry panic’

Sir Bob Jones blames the current state of the construction industry for delays facing the building of what would be the world’s tallest wooden office tower.

Jones initially planned to demolish the Leaders Building on Featherston St in Wellington’s CBD to make way for a new 12-storey office block with wooden columns and crossbeams.

Now the project has turned into a refurbishment of the existing 10-storey building.

The Robert Jones Holdings website states that the company ‘‘intends to strip the building back to a concrete structure and embark on an extensive refurbishment programme, including new glass facade, lifting and airconditioning systems’’.

Jones said the company was looking at a ‘‘fresh approach’’ for the office tower that would deliver ‘‘the identical building to that proposed’’ and would bring the building to a 100 per cent earthquake rating under the new building standards.

In August last year Jones announced his plans to build a 52-metre-tall building with laminated timber columns and beams, which would have made it the tallest wooden office tower in the world.

A proposed wooden office tower in Brisbane would have matched the project in height.

But Jones admitted the tower’s wooden element had been overhyped.

‘‘The hype regarding the wooden building element, as I constantly stressed last year, was hugely overstated by the timber industry, eager to promote the use of wood,’’ Jones said.

‘‘It was never to be more than the invisible columns and crossbeams, as we repeatedly told people.’’

Jones said his proposal for a new structure had builders indicating ‘‘ludicrous prices’’ to cover themselves, which he said would have increased rental costs to ‘‘three times current market levels’’.

He said the project, which was initially due to be completed this year, has been ‘‘absurdly delayed’’.

He blamed ‘‘the industry panic’’ that followed the massive losses recorded by Fletcher Construction and the financial hardships facing other building companies that have completed commercial projects at huge losses.

Jones said none of the construction firms he approached were prepared to give overall fixed prices.

‘‘That is unprecedented in my half-century experience. We have some sympathy with their [the builders’] situation but are now weighing alternative approaches.’’

Jones bought the building in 2016 for $3.7 million.

STUFF; STUDIO PACIFIC ARCHITECTURE Sir Bob Jones, top left, says the refurbishment will be ‘‘identical’’ to the initial plans for a new build, left. He bought the Leaders Building, above, in 2016 for $3.7 million.