100 many buildings risky and tatty

Press, 9 May 1980, Page 13

100 many buildings risky and tatty

By

BRONWEN JONES

‘•The central commercial district is the hub of s ocial and business life in Christchurch; it is the centre of civic life, entertainment arid shopping it offers special services and contains most of the city's fine buildings and monuments. The centre represents a tremendous investment in money, construction, effort and time spent in living and working, and it generates a major proportion of the city’s rate income. Its general we llbeing and continued development and redevelopment is essential to the growth of the whole of Christchurch.” (The Christchurch City Council’s second review of the district planning scheme, December, 1979.)

' In spite of the row of ! braad-spanking-new build- ' Ings lining up in Hereford : Street and the emergence of new shopping arcades.

much of Christchurch's valuable Commercial 5 area is tatty.

According to a Christchurch City Council sur- • vey, nearly two thirds of the buildings in the area ' are earthquake risks, and I some do not meet stan- ' dard fire safely regulations, either. As examples of tatti- ■ ness, take the jumble of ■ little buildings (excluding ' Hallensteins) on the block iof land bounded by High, ! Cashel, and Colombo ; Streets known as the Triangle. This area is ’ owned by T and G. .Mutual Life Society. Or take the Dominion i Building (owned by the i A.M.P. Society) on the ; corner of Cathedral : Square. Colombo Street i and Gloucester Street, a i nondescript shade of drab : grey with a grubby, untidy courtyard and stairs. I The great advertising ■ boards on the roof with ■ their mesh of supports do i nothing ' for our city’s 1 townscape. Over the road | on the Colombo and Glou- : tester Street corner is a ■ near match for the Domi- 1 1 nion Building’s drabness: 1 the Masonic Building, which includes a pub and lamp shop. (The ownership and licence papers are held by the Anglican

Church Properties Trustees.) Elsham Towers (owned by Mr and Mrs T. J. Sharpies), on Cashel Street opposite the Triangle, is not only tatty but is downright dirty inside and out. The ugliness detracts from whatever efforts are made by the doctors and dentists on the first floor to keep their rooms looking healthy.

The United Services Hotel in Cathedral Square (Central City Estates) is streaked with dirt on the outside. It is also an earthquake and fire risk. The owners and the Christchurch City Council have agreed on 1989 as the demolition date, and the owners have made another proposal to the Licensing Control Commission on its fire safety requirements.

Although Warners Tavern has recently been redecorated, the rest of the building (Square Freeholds, Ltd) and the StatSun Building (Idris Freeholds, Ltd) could do with a spruce up.

One particularly ugly facade is the back of the Carlton Theatre in Gloucester Street (Government Life Insurance). The side doorways are filthy, and grime hangs in multishades of grey above the shop veranda. Many other buildings in the C 5 area cannot be classed as tatty but would be greatly improved by

street development. New Regent Street. for example, would be so much more attractive as a mall, planted with trees and benches, with outdoor tables and chairs where people could sip coffee while admiring the quaint, brightly painted street facades. It is hoped that plans for a mall will be finder way before the end of the year. Some old structures worthy of treasuring by the city are in danger, such as the facade of the Central Post Office in Cathedral Square. The building is on the city council's list of those worth attention, but the Post Office would prefer to redevelop the lot, and no compromise has been reached. The council says it is about two years since it last heard from the Post Office’s head office on the matter.

To keep the city’s- retail and commercial activities viable, they must be competitive. not only with overseas and North Island business ventures, but also with the attractive and convenient shopping areas in the suburbs. Without a thriving city centre, the growth of cultural activities and entertainment centres would diminish. Without social, cultural and economic activity the city would die. Some people believe that the damage has already been done to the

inner city, especially by the growth of modern suburban shopping with the advantages of free parking, supermarkets, and malls. Not only shoppers but businesses are moving to' the suburbs, they say. Cleaning up the city does not necessarily mean demolishing old buildings and putting up multi-stor-ied glasshouses and concrete towers to overshadow the sun lovers in

Cathedral Square. Old buildings can be redecorated. sandblasted and painted outside, and any quaint features can be emphasised instead of allowing them to remain faded in a blanket of grey. Streets can be developed into malls, which are conducive to good business. Where a building has nothing to offer, redevelopment may be best.There are many talented architects in Christchurch who are able to design attractive new buildings that are ■ fresh, light, and a pleasure to work or do business in Or if these choices are unattractive. there are land agents in the city able to produce buyers willing to undertake the redecoration or redevelopment.

When asked why the buildings described above were tatty, most owners or their spokesmen said that the economic climate had made delving in their pockets painful. But considering the prime location of the buildings, it must be remembered that their values increase automatically each year.

Minimum maintenance is being done on most buildings. Some have been.

redecorated in part within the last few. years. Elsham Towers has . been bought by the Canterbury Savings Bank which will take possession in July, next year, and probably redesign the building. Part of the mess had been caused by a fire at the back about seven months ago, according to Mr T.- J.- Sharpies, the vendor. Owners said that various distant plans for redevelopment could not be brought forward because there was no incentive to tie up money while there were steady incomes from lessees. When asked whether offers had been made by people willing to buy the buildings for more immediate redevelopment, most replied that

there had been offers, but that they were not selling. The Triangle was bought for redevelopment and T and G would wait for the right time to proceed, although the society could afford the s2om scheme in stages, according to Mr B. B. O’Donnell, the New Zealand manager.. Mr D. McFarlane, the managing director of Warners, the United Services, and the Star Sun Building said real estate . agents had made offers, but when asked to produce the money they disappeared. Many expressed fears that office space in a new building would be hard to sell as there was already an excess on.the city market and even more would result from new constructions due to be finished within the next two years.

But companies wishing to look prestigious and professional are always attracted by new, clean, fresh office space. Retailers, especially of the more modern style, realise the advantages of being in a modern mall. And if space in a new building is hard to fill, then . the chances are there has not been efficient marketing. It may not be enough to just sit and await enquiries.

Those it charge of leasing some of the new buildings in the C 5 area, both finished and unfinish-

ed, are fully expecting to lease any spare space. There are still two spaces in the two-year-old Colonial Mutual Life building in Cathedral Square, but these are sitting without carpet and subdivision into offices. They are expected to be taken soon. There is no space at all in the new Reserve Bankbuilding in Hereford Street. When owners were asked if they felt any obligation to the people of Christchurch to redevelop or clean up their buildings, it appeared that they felt none. Most evaded the question and pointed out that there had been “many Thousands” spent on their building already.

Mr O’Donnell said that T and G’s obligation was to its policy holders, to get the best return possible for them. Mr A. Heald, the trust manager for the Masonic Building, said it was up to the trust what it did with the building. and there were no present plans.

Some owners of this valuable C 5 land seem to be just sitting, and those willing to have a go are prevented from doing so. Meanwhile, a substantial part of our central city remains tatty and detracts from the character of the whole of Christchurch.