Roman baths, market and cinema for Lyttelton?
Roman-style baths, a souk-like market and a quirky cinema could be built in Lyttelton if a collective’s project gets off the ground.
Called Collett’s Corner, the development, on the corner of London and Oxford streets, will probably include 2300 square metres across three floors and cost $5 million to $8m, project founder and director Camia Young said.
Her group, Ohu Development, crowd-sourced ideas from Lyttelton residents. Later this year, it plans to crowd source money from investors and the business side of the development would produce commercial-level returns, Young said. Two options will be discussed at a community meeting tonight in the Lyttelton Community Board Rooms, from 6pm.
The first, called Intergenerational, envisaged two floors of accommodation for seniors and short-term apartments for digital nomads – people who can work on digital devices from anywhere in the world. Some retirees had difficulty getting around the hilly port town, according to the group’s website.
The ground floor would include a restaurant ‘‘designed to bring the community together to share conversation and kai’’. There would be integrated shops and co-working space. In the basement, a fleet of electric vehicles would be available to residents and visitors.
The second option, called Attraction, would increase Lyttelton’s destination value. Ideas included a ‘‘quirky cinema’’ on the second floor and a boutique hotel and backpackers on the first floor. The ground floor would include a ‘‘souklike’’ market with eateries and shops similar to the Saturday farmers’ market but indoors and open during the week. The basement would be a Roman-style bath and spa, with therapeutic massage and physiotherapy.
The site was diagonally across from the new Lyttelton Primary School. Before the earthquakes it was the site of the Empire Hotel, a bookshop and a pharmacy once owned the Collett family. The heritage buildings were demolished.
Young is an American architect who designed Gap Filler’s Pallet Pavilion and co-founded Exchange Christchurch, a warehouse space for artists, designers, digital ventures and events. She bought the Lyttelton land in 2013 for $630,000.
Ohu believed ‘‘it is possible for people with a common purpose to work together to collectively create and own assets that generate both a social and economic value’’. Collett’s Corner will be ‘‘collectively owned by the community it supports,’’ Young said.