Icy future for Municipal Chambers
The grand old exterior of the Municipal Chambers on Christchurch’s Avon River is slowly being revealed, but its inside has an icy future.
The first floor of the building, with views over Worcester Blvd from the former mayor’s office and council chambers, is earmarked for the Antarctic Research Legacy Library.
It is still in the final stages of its rejuvenation after being damaged in the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, and private development company Box 112 has been ensuring that the grand old building, erected in 1887, will stand strong for at least another 100 years. The work is due to be completed by June. Box 112 director Sam Rofe said the Antarctic Research Legacy Library going into the Queen Anne-style building was apt, as a statue of the man who led two expeditions to the icy continent, Robert Falcon Scott, faced the site.
“He’s looking at the building going, ‘Come on, you guys – do something great’.”
The “highlight” of the building’s use would be the international collection of research, records and writings carried out by professors and collectors from around the world who had been in Christchurch and to the ice, he said.
“The public will be able to visit when it’s open, go into the main chamber, sit round the old council desk and read books.”
The cost of the restoration was estimated to be in “excess” of $12 million, Rofe said, of which $10m came from the public purse, in exchange for Box 112 getting a 50-year lease agreement from the Christchurch City Council, made through its City of Christchurch Trust. The other $2m was a loan from the council.
However, Rofe said cost was “relative, but it’s irrelevant” when it came to the historic building.
“It’s a tremendous value proposition for us all just to see it restored. It’s heartening.
“The cost is irrelevant, in my view ... due to the value it delivers, and it’s going to be here as long as it will stand – and it’s a very safe building now.”
Rofe anticipated that there would be about five tenants on the ground and second floors, with one space already filled by Adventure Books, and other tenants yet to be disclosed.
One listing for 115m² of the ground floor was expected to generate $65,000 annually in gross rent. The entire first floor, approximately 140m² with lift access, was expected to earn $79,500 a year.
Box 112 has beautified several buildings throughout Christchurch, including the Public Trust Office and the Midland Club on Oxford Tce. The Municipal Chambers had been the most difficult yet, Rofe said.
“It has been the most intense work we’ve done in any building in the city, just because of the age of the building and the fact it’s brick.”
But it was a “worthy cause”, he said. “I’ve had more enjoyment out of this than any other [project]. More heartache, too. The two go together.”