Call for contractors to build new Court
A new Court Theatre in the city centre is a step closer to opening in 2023, as the Christchurch City Council calls for contractors to build the anchor project.
The council hopes that the $36 million project on the corner of Colombo and Gloucester streets will start construction early next year and be ready for performances in September 2023.
The theatre, which is part of the performing arts precinct outlined in the recovery blueprint, will include a 360-seat main auditorium and a 130-seat studio theatre.
Council citizens and community principal adviser Brent Smith said it was contributing $30m to the project, while the Court Theatre would fundraise $6m. The Crown has provided the land for the project.
The $36m budget includes new public space and landscaping. The budget for the Court Theatre building is in the range of $23m to $27m.
A new parking building is also planned for the Gloucester St site next door to the proposed theatre.
Tender documents released this week show that uncertainty over the new parking building meant design work for the public realm in the performing arts precinct had to be put on hold.
The tender documents also show that there were plans for a new building on Armagh St where Ken’s Camera Shop once stood. Smith said there were plans to put out a call for parties interested in developing a new building on the site that would complement the performing arts precinct, which included the Isaac Theatre Royal and The Piano.
The concept design for the new Court Theatre was assessed by the council’s Urban Design Panel in late 2020.
The panel praised the layout of the proposed theatre, but was critical of its scale compared with its much larger neighbours – Te Pae convention centre, Crowne Plaza hotel and the Tu¯ ranga library.