Insurance trouble halts hotel repairs

Work to fix and reopen a central Christchurch hotel has ground to a ‘‘frustrating’’ halt in the face of another round of legal insurance wrangles.

In 2019 a High Court decision appeared to have cleared the way for property owner Emmons Developments to spend $190 million on earthquake repairs to the former Rydges Hotel and attached parking building, and rebuilding an office tower alongside.

The string of insurance disputes between the Singapore-based company and insurers Vero and Mitsui Sumitomo following the quakes has gone as high as the Supreme Court.

The buildings are between Oxford Tce, Worcester St and Cathedral Sq, next to the city’s new Te Pae convention centre.

The 14-storey hotel building originally featured on the city’s council’s list of ‘‘Dirty 30’’ sites considered barriers to the rebuild, but is now listed as having a commitment to action. The building has been vacant since the earthquakes.

Rydges occupied the hotel at the time of the quakes but is now in premises on Latimer Sq.

The 2019 court decision over crack sizes triggered optimism and a burst of activity, but work on the site stopped.

A court hearing for a new claim from Emmons Developments against its insurers is set down for September next year.

A spokesman for Emmons, Peter Woods of Anthony Harper Lawyers in Christchurch, said the main issue was the scope of works for the repair, and all spending must be approved by the insurers. He said he hoped the matter could be resolved before the hearing date. ‘‘Emmons is very keen to get on and get the hotel open. It’s very frustrating. Both parties are trying hard to get an agreement.’’

Work done on the buildings had involved readying them for structural repair, he said.

Woods said he was unable to comment on plans for the office building site, occupied by the 12-storey Grant Thornton tower until it was demolished after the earthquakes. Emmons Developments previously expressed an intention to rebuild it in a similar fashion.

The hotel originally opened as Noahs in the 1970s before being rebadged as Rydges. Reopening would likely involve the owners signing up a new hotel operator.

Emmons Developments’ sole shareholder is Singapore-based Naoaki Sun.