Sad sight of worst block in the city
Looking down Tramway Lane in central Christchurch on a wet Tuesday morning is not an uplifting sight.
The narrow lane has a concrete parking building on one side and the decaying former State Insurance heritage building on the other.
The windows of the insurance building are frosted with neglect and tags, while small plants grow out of the cracks etched across its faded facade.
Further down the laneway is an empty site full of weeds, gravel and muddy puddles, and a derelict building covered in graffiti. The bottom of the lane is blocked by large metal props holding up another derelict building on the corner.
A glimpse of scaffolding around the props and the sound of construction work is the only slender ray of hope in an otherwise grim panorama.
Is this the worst block in Christchurch? In a city known for wintry landscapes of Soviet grey concrete, dereliction and windswept gravel, that would be some achievement.
The stretch of city bounded by Worcester St, Manchester St, Hereford St and Tramway Lane, along with a cluster of three buildings next door on Hereford St, features an empty architectural classic, a partially restored church, two empty sites, a transplanted heritage villa, six derelict buildings and a Mexican restaurant.
This colourful collection of buildings lends the block a frontier feeling.
Across the street are the empty sites earmarked for new housing as part of the east frame regeneration project.
Attempts to improve the neighbourhood have arguably blighted the block further.
Invercargill lawyer Jeff Walker owns an empty site on Manchester
St that was formerly occupied by Le Plonk wine bar.
He has no plans for the site, but believes it will be harder to develop since regeneration agency O¯ ta¯karo installed a large bus shelter across the front of his property, as part of the $26m upgrade of Manchester St.
‘‘We objected to them putting that great monstrosity there. It will create some issues when we come to build.’’
‘‘The big challenge is going to be the cost of building and craning everything over those things.
‘‘We have decided to sit tight and see what happens over the road.’’
An O¯ ta¯ karo spokesman said the size of the bus shelter was reduced after consultation.
It could be temporarily removed, or reduced in size, at the expense of any party wanting to carry out further development in the area, he said.
So have any nearby landowners taken advantage of this generous invitation?
There is some good news on the block. Hereford Chambers, an historic brick building on the corner of Tramway Lane and Hereford St, is being strengthened by owner Denis Harwood, after it was issued with a dangerous building notice by council. Once work is complete, steel props blocking the laneway can be removed.
Harwood does not have a completion date for the work.
‘‘Everything that needs repairing or replacing will be done,’’ he said.
‘‘We will get it as close as possible to 100 per cent of code. All the heritage material has been stored so we can reinstate it later.’’
Managers at the Mexico restaurant next door are pleased the building is being fixed up.
Leilani Torkelson would be happier to have neater neighbours, but said the derelict buildings do not impact on their business. She hoped the neighbouring building would eventually become a pub.
At the northern end of the block, the former State Insurance building has been purchased by a group of Wellington developers, who received a $600,000 heritage grant from council earlier this year, to help convert the 1935 building into apartments. The new owners declined to comment on their plans.
And last year tax refund entrepreneurs Cilla and Aaron Hegarty purchased a derelict building on the corner of Hereford St and Tramway Lane. The building has been strengthened and is ready for fit-out.
But Aaron Hegarty believed it would be hard to get tenants when his neighbours were in such a poor state.
To the west of his property are two derelict buildings, Malvern House and Hereford Suites, with missing glass and tagged facades. One is owned by Harwood and the other by siblings Christopher and Qwan-ling Chew, who could not be reached for comment.
‘‘It is pretty frustrating. It is just the fact that you are never going to attract a tenant and none of the neighbours seem too worried,’’ Hegarty said.
‘‘They need to show a bit of respect. Those buildings are appalling and they have been like that for 10 years. Nothing seems to happen.’’
Hegarty wanted council to take more action against the derelict building owners.
‘‘I think [the council] have more power than they are using.’’
Council head of strategic partnerships Aaron Haymes said they were working with owners of the buildings on Hereford St to encourage redevelopment. He pointed to the dangerous building notice for Hereford Chambers that spurred strengthening work as an example of that success.
They are in talks with the owners of Malvern House and Hereford Suites over possible redevelopment, but no date for repair work has yet been established.