‘Dirty 30’ buildings for sale
Two Christchurch heritage buildings on the city council’s ‘‘Dirty
30’’ list are going under the hammer and could form part of a new development.
The Odeon Theatre and adjacent Lawrie and Wilson buildings on Tuam St were damaged in the earthquakes and now sit graffitied behind barriers and shipping containers.
Both are owned by the Crown after being bought for the city’s south frame anchor project, and remain on the councils list of derelict sites considered barriers to the Christchurch rebuild.
Together with an adjoining bare corner site, they will go to auction as one lot on August 13.
The ornate 137-year-old Odeon is listed as a category one heritage building, giving it the city’s highest level of protection. It has a stone facade with Italianinfluenced decoration.
Built as Tuam Street Hall in
1883, it was at various times a theatre, vaudeville hall, cinema and church, and hosted performers including the Von Trapp family singers and Laurence Olivier.
Although its seating, stage and fly tower areas were demolished after the quakes, the old theatre’s facade, stairway, and upper and lower foyers remain.
The 109-year-old Lawries and Wilson building has a category two listing. Built as an action house, it was later the city council’s parking department.
Crown company O¯ ta¯ karo is selling the buildings in as-is condition, and wants a developer to incorporate them into a new development. The south frame zoning allows for mixed-use development.
The 1600sqm site includes bare land next door on the corner of Tuam and Manchester streets, and rear access from the south frame greenway lane.
O¯ ta¯karo spokesman Keith Beal said the buildings were a chance for someone with the vision and skills to rejuvenate ‘‘a hidden treasure’’.
‘‘We hope we will be able to restore and salvage these buildings by integrating them into a part of a new development,’’ he said.
Courtney Doig, of real estate firm Colliers, which will auction the buildings for the Crown, said most heritage buildings which survived the quakes have already been sold and ‘‘wonderful restoration’’ work had been done in the city.
Crown company Ota¯karo ¯ is selling the buildings in as-is condition.