In CBD, things are looking up

Invercargill’s flatness has long been remarked upon. The impression, strengthened by the width of so many of its streets, is that it isn’t a city that protrudes proudly. Things have been changing with the framework for the Invercargill Licensing Trust’s new hotel, under construction on the corner of Dee and Don streets, rising pleasingly.

To this point, progress on the nearby city block project has been a tad horizontal in its impact.

The flattening of most structures on the site has perhaps made the surviving Kelvin Hotel more dramatic by standing in stark relief, while the demolition of another substantial corner-piece of the Tay-Dee-Esk-Kelvin block, the long-neglected Government Life building, was no great loss, notwithstanding that there was considerably more sorrow at the demolition of the adjacent building where once the famous and, yes, historic Brown Owl cafe and licensed restaurant stood.

Planned for that Dee-Esk corner, remember, is the new Richardson headquarters, which, even though it’s not scheduled to show up early in the development schedule, promises to be one of its most handsome features.

As the construction work continues on the now largely empty and airy site, with a major concrete pour, there’s symbolic pleasure in the first real uprisings in the form of six columns erected along the side of the retained facade of the Southland Times building.

What will next have heads turning skyward is the arrival of a second and considerably larger onsite crane. As things progress, we need to remind ourselves that not all the planning has been completed and we’re not talking simply about the number of yet-to-emerge tenants.

There remains the issue of properly meshing the entire block to the rest of the inner city.

The chairman of the governance group, John Green, has signalled that the Invercargill City Centre Master Plan, which aims to connect new developments with existing businesses, will be delivered to the council next month. And that it will include some ‘‘brave’’ decisions.

It’s becoming clear that this includes a proposal for Tay St to be narrowed to single lanes, allowing for a more pedestrian-friendly recreational area on the south side of the development.

This would address the strong feedback reported to the Invercargill City Council that the city centre has been missing ‘‘a place for people’’ providing recreational elements and ‘‘an intergenerational space’’.

As so often happens, this will entail decisions on how pedestrians, public areas, cyclists, vehicles and car parking can be intelligently combined or separated.

And if the recreational componentry is to be augmented, the space will need to be cribbed, one way or another, from the automobile.

The impact of such decisions won’t be confined to Tay St, either.

Esk St retailers, or a significant number of them, have long resisted calls to fully pedestrianise the street and they are likely to remain protective of the car parks on the northern side.

Granted, there will be a great deal of parking within the developed block on the other side of the street, but not all motorists are comfortable with multi-storey parking. Those who prefer to stay grounded will have their supporters.

So there are many decisions to be made and perspectives to consider. The master plan will be an important document to provide a focus for this.

There’s symbolic pleasure in the first real uprisings in the form of six columns erected along the side of the retained facade of the Southland Times building.