Derelict buildings slowly to come back to life
IF YOU take a walk down Christchurch’s Hereford St you might experience two opposite moods.
Starting from the river going towards Colombo St, people come in and out of a cafe, a yoga studio and a hotel on one side, and the retail precinct is bustling with construction workers on the other side. The mood is positive: Christchurch is getting back on its feet.
But across Colombo St towards Manchester St, the old BNZ House stands in contrast with its broken windows, graffitied walls and boarded-up entrances.
After years of inaction, the building has been sold and the new owners plan to demolish it.
As you keep walking, it gets quieter and the mood gets bleak.
Dust billows from vacant lots on the right side while seemingly abandoned buildings are inexplicably still standing on the left side, more than four years after the 2011 earthquakes.
Vagrants and vandals keep breaking into the hollow buildings despite the owners’ attempts to restrict entrance with locks and wood panels, and regular police intervention.
That stretch of Hereford St is one of the rare CBD spots the Government blueprint.
Developer Denis Harwood owns 161 Hereford, an office block that was converted into hotel
has
left
out
of
the apartments quakes.
He also has a stake in the heritage brick building next door, Hereford Chambers.
Both buildings are fenced and boarded up and 161’s windows are blank, broken or graffitied.
Yet, Harwood plans to have them up to post-quake building standards and renovated by the end of next year.
It has taken so long because of legal battles with Hereford Chambers’ previous owners and consenting issues at 161 but construction should start in a few weeks, he said.
The hotel was ‘‘certainly not abandoned’’ but vandals and vagrants kept breaking into it. This caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage inside.
Despite delays, Harwood was feeling ‘‘very positive’’ about that side of Hereford St.
‘‘There is some exciting development happening across the road, bringing vitality back to the street.’’
Malvern House, at 159 Hereford St, remained a concern.
Risk of glass fall, dead pigeons and human faeces inside are ‘‘creating
just
before
the a health hazard’’, Harwood said. The owner, investor Vincent Chew, declined to answer questions about his plans for the building.
Harwood said police have made several arrests in connection to this building but ‘‘you can’t stop people from breaking in’’.
A few blocks away on Lichfield St, the Lincoln House building is another tagged mess.
Devonia Realty’s Peter Francis said the owners have just reached an agreement with their insurer after four and a half years.
The owners, wealthy offshore investors known as the Hong family, are looking into retaining the building and converting it into a hotel or a hospitality space once they receive insurance money.
Francis admitted that the building has become ‘‘a bit of an eyesore’’.
‘‘It’s a shame because it’s been secured but there’s not much you can do about it.’’
Despite all this, Lichfield St remains an ‘‘attractive location’’ and he expected to see a lot of interest in the building.