Heritage building put back on market
A DUNEDIN heritage building that was partially restored but has stayed unoccupied is for sale in the heart of the warehouse precinct.
The A. H. Reed Building on the corner of Jetty and Crawford Sts was bought in 2012 by heritage developer Lawrie Forbes, who repaired a crumbling wall next to Sammy’s nightclub.
The building received about $40,000 in heritage funding that was used to help fix the wall.
In 2014 it was bought by Dunedinborn, Perthbased businessman Roger Bray, who planned to convert it into half a dozen apartments, possibly some office space and a cafe on the downstairs corner.
Since then one wall has been painted, but little else obvious has been done to the building.
It has been advertised as ‘‘ready for the next stage of its story after a long 120year history and is awaiting a new owner to renovate into new amazing spaces’’.
The advertisement says the property has resource consent for conversion to 12 residential or commercial units.
Dunedin Heritage Fund chairman Cr David BensonPope said the building had ‘‘immense potential’’. ‘‘It’s a really key building in an important place.’’ It also had historical importance and there were ‘‘some lovely spaces in it’’.
‘‘I hope we get some progress.
‘‘The sooner we get someone in there who has got the capital or the time to progress it, the better.’’ The A. H. Reed Building is so named because it was the headquarters of what is now called Reed Publishing, from 192540, when A. H. Reed closed the branch and retired.