$4.6M plan for Merivale to go ahead

Press, 7 October 1985, Page 1

$4.6M plan for Merivale to go ahead

The proposed $4.6 million development by the Merivale Precinct Society will go ahead in its entire form.

The society’s' chairman, of the service station site at the corner of Papanui Road and Office Road had agreed to sell the site to the society. Reports last month had said that the site was not for sale because the company had been planning its own development of office and rental space valued at $1.3 million. The Merivale Precinct Society proposal includes a park, community centre, and mews.

Mr Pettengell said the society had been lucky with the people it had been dealing with. Y ‘They consider it is a very worth while development for the community and because of that they have rethought their plans.” The contract for the purchase of the land was conditional on finance being available, but Mr Pettengell

said that he did not think money would be a problem. “We are now looking for community to raise some capital for the He hoped to raise $lOO,OOO from within the community... The development was due to start at the end of November or beginning of December. ■

“It is really, really exciting and I am really over the moon. I have put a lot of work in personally as have a lot of others.”

The society would have a display of photographs and plans at Merivale Mall from Wednesday to show people what it was aiming for and what it was 'trying to achieve, said Mr Pettengell. “We are going to try to build in the old Merivale style but in new materials.” Photographs would include styles of Merivale that were being lost that the society though were worth preserving. These included high gables, bay windows, stained glass, and “nice front doors.”