New State Building In The City Proposed

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28370, 31 August 1957, Page 14

New State Building In The City Proposed

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 30. Plans for a new Government building in Christchurch may soon be announced.' The. building, in contemporary design and containing 80,000 square feet of floor space, may cost about £500,000.

Its construction will be the first stage in a Government centre to be developed over a long period. The Government Accommodation Board, which is guiding the project. is anxious to keep the development in harmony with civic centre planning and is negotiating with the Christchurch City Council to that end.

Completion of the first block will facilitate the removal from rented premises of many Government departments which are. at present, paying rent to private landlords at the rate of £26.000 a year.

As other buildings in the scheme are constructive, depart-! meats housed in trading depart-' ] ment blocks and other Government premises will have their own space. At present, they pay about £BOOO a year for rent back to the Government. This money could be saved by the departments. and the trading department offices could be re-let to private tenants. Two Sites Two sites are available for the centre. One comprises one and three-quarter acres qC -Crown land fronting the west side of Latimer square and also having the frontages in Worcester and Hereford streets. The second is the ‘Drill Hall site” of three and a half acres alongside, and behind, the central police station in Hereford street and including property occupied by King Edward barracks and other Army establishments. Engineers who have made foundation tests on the sites have reported both suitable for large, multi-storey buildings. Discussions between representatives of the Accommodation Board and the City Council are mainly concerned with local authority requirements, particularly those of zoning, heights and other restrictions.

The Latimer square site was originally favoured by the board for the building because of its proximity to the central city ] area. However, since Ihe City j Council has decided, in principle.! oij the block behind the Canter- ] bury public library for a civic centre, the board’s choice has' switched to the Drill Hall site. But, although the Drill Hall site is now thought more desirable than the other, it is emphasised that no firm decision has yet been made. Talks with Council With a view to fitting in with the local Government administrative pattern in the same way as in Auckland, the board has been conducting formal talks with City Council officers for some time on proposed development.

The favouring of the Drill Hall .site does not necessarily mean the n removal or demolition of King Edward barracks. The departmental building will be only one block in a series and, depending on its design, siting and relation to the over-all plan, would probably impinge little, if at all, on the barracks. The final design, of the departmental building has not been decided on but preliminary groundwork is reported to be “quite active.” • •