Statement soon on Chambers’ sale

Press, 28 May 1983, Page 6

Statement soon on Chambers’ sale

A statement on the sale of the old Civic Chambers and Civic theatre in Manchester Street will be made on Monday, but council officers said yesterday that negotiations with the present buyer were still active. For some months, there has been speculation about the commercial site’s future, mainly because the buyer who bought the property for $760,000 more than a year ago has never been identified, at his own request. Plans for redevelopment of the property have also been sketchy, with some proposals falling through. When the old City Council offices were vacated in 1980 because of the move to new Tuam Street Civic Offices, they had already been on the market for two years.

The building was first sold conditionally in 1981 to Mr C. J. Berryman, now developer of the Old Normal School luxury flats project, who wanted to convert the Civic Chambers into an entertainment centre. After encountering Liquor Licensing Control commission obstacles that delayed the project, Mr Berryman let his option lapse later in the year. A new sale was made in March, 1982. At that time, plans for a restaurant,- gallery and small museum were announced. An agent for the buyer said the building’s ground floor could be used for commercial or retail premises. The Salvation Army used the Civic Theatre while its new Citadel was being built.