Owner open to co-development
New lease of life sought for former student pub
We remain open to having discussions with parties who are interested in developing the site with us. Ken Orr
The owner of former Palmerston North pub The Fitz remains open to talking with people interested in codeveloping the site. The building and land at 320-326 Ferguson St are owned by Millennium and Copthorne Hotels New Zealand.
Operations vice-president Ken Orr said the company had been looking at how it could maximise the best use of the land around Copthorne Hotel Palmerston North “for a number of years”.
“Some of the proposals we have looked at included new conferencing, commercial offices and retail/QSR [quick-service restaurant] options but so far we have not landed on a proposal or option that would best fit in with our hotel,” Orr said.
“We remain open to having discussions with parties who are interested in developing the site with us. At the point when we enter into agreement with our development partners, we would then look to apply for consents to proceed.”
The pub, once popular with students, closed in 2008.
The deteriorating state of most of the building has been increasingly noticeable since the completion last September of the widening of Ferguson St and the installation of traffic lights for pedestrians.
Super Liquor occupies the Linton St end of the building, while Wilson
Parking manages a paid carpark at the Fitzherbert Avenue end. The Copthorne Hotel is behind with access off Fitzherbert Ave and Linton St.
Broken grass, weeds and rubbish are scattered out the front of the unoccupied part of the building.
Doors and windows are boarded up but a board has fallen off one small ground-level window.
There is graffiti on the building including “f*** the police”, a loose security light and what appears to be cabling, a broken downpipe and a broken wooden post.
Weeds are growing in the gutter and there is lichen on the roof. A canopy is ripped.
Orr did not respond to two requests for comment on the exterior of the empty part of the building and any maintenance plans.
Palmerston North city councillor Mark Arnott said he had received many comments about some CBD commercial properties not being maintained by their owners and the terrible look it portrays.
“Some landlords have lost their city pride. Empty businesses are not being maintained; owners have a responsibility to the city and should be held to account for the state of their properties.”
Arnott said the council needs a property maintenance bylaw like other councils.
Owners could be served with a notice to remedy within a certain period.
Failure to comply or pay the fine would allow the council to place a caveat on the title and obtain payment upon the sale of the property.
“City pride makes for a happier community and needs civic leadership,” Arnott said.
Meanwhile, Millennium and Copthorne Hotels is upgrading the facade of its Palmerston North hotel.
It is installing new double-glazed windows and air-conditioning.
The new-look exterior will be revealed and completed over the next five months, Orr said.