From ‘dirty 30’ list to six-star hotel
One of the Christchurch City Council’s ‘‘dirty 30’’ earthquakedamaged buildings is set to make way for a six-star, 150-room hotel.
The hotel will take the place of Harley Chambers, on the corner of Worcester Blvd and Cambridge Tce – one of a list of 30 buildings publicly deemed by the council in May to be holding up the central city rebuild.
According to plans by Warren and Mahoney Architects, the hotel would take over the site while also wrapping around the existing Worcester Chambers.
The buildings are owned by Hong Kong-based lawyer Gerard McCoy and his wife, Siu-Wai McCoy, after Worcester Chambers was purchased from the Gough family in 2016. Both are listed as category two historic places with Heritage New Zealand.
McCoy was hired by internet tycoon and would-be politician Kim Dotcom in 2015 to help him free some of the $50 million in his bank accounts that was frozen at the request of the United States Government.
The hotel plans proposed an eight-level development with two floors of public spaces and six floors of guest accommodation.
Warren and Mahoney managing director Peter Marshall said it would have ‘‘a mix of restaurants and retail spaces’’ at street level.
Facilities included a swimming pool, spa and ‘‘state-of-the-art’’ conference centre. Rooftop gardens and floating pavilion roofs would feature on the upper floors.
The design would combine old and new, seeking to revive a section of Worcester Chambers, built in the 1920s, within a large glazed atrium.
A sculptural arched facade on the lower floors of the hotel would resemble the Harley Chambers building, which previously housed offices and medical chambers.
‘‘The hotel fulfils a niche market for luxurious six-star accommodation in the city and will be an important and vibrant addition to the river precinct,’’ Marshall said.
It was unclear what hotel company the development would operate under or when the project was expected to commence.
Harley Chambers remains vacant.