Details of Victoria Square tower

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 1

Details of Victoria Square tower

By

DIANA HALES

Plans for a $2O million tower proposed for Victoria Square were released yesterday by the developer, Tourist Towers, Ltd. The 167 m-high tower, designed by Warren and Mahoney, is planned as a focal point for entertain--" ment and visitor information. The base of the tower will include three floors and a basement. The ground floor will contain facilities for visitor information and two shops, . including .an indoor-outdoor cafe on the north-west side. Visitor promotion offices, travel agencies, a display waiting area and a souvenir shop are proposed for the first floor, and the second floor will

house administration offices. The steel tower shaft will contain two sets of stairs, in accordance with fire regulations, two lifts, and service ducting. A third “bubble” lift, with a

capacity of 16, will feature on the outside of the shaft. The internal lifts, will be high-speed elevators but the bubble lift is designed to travel slowly taking three times longer to reach the top, says Mr Jamie Tulloch, a director and spokesman for Tourist Towers, Ltd. The tower will be capped by two upper levels and, at. the very top, ' plant arid lift machinerooms and a stainless steel spire. The first of the two upper levels at 135 metres will be a viewing gallery, with a small theatre and toilets. Behind the viewing gallery will be a kitchen serving the restaurant on the upper floor. A slowly revolving floor in a double-level restaurant will be the prize attraction on the topmost public floor. This level will include a cocktail lounge, a walk-in wine bar, and a small conference room tor private functions or promotions. Only the ground floor will be freely open to the

public. Charges will be made for the lifts, viewing gallery level, and restaurant facilities. ' >'• The base of the tower will take lip ujriiy 22 metres and .will be in the corner ofr Victoria Square between Armagh Street ..arid Colombo Street. Mr Barry Dacombe, a representative of Warren and Mahoney, said the construction of the tower Would take up little mote room than the base size. “The tower will not encroach upon the grassed area, or-use any of the existing green area,” said Mr Tulloch. The design of the tower was unlike other towers overseas, which were usually ouilt on top of hotels or shopping complexes. “The developers wanted a tower which would stand alone, as a building in its own right,” he said. Mr Tulloch said the

tower, which would cost $2O million, would take about 18 months to build. When completed, it would generate 320 new jobs, about half of them directly associated with the tower, and an estimated $23 jnillion in revenue a year throughout the region. Of that figure $l3 million alone would come from tourism, said Mr Tulloch. He said the research Tourist Towers had already done indicated that a minimum of .45 per cent of all visitors to Christchurch, domestic and international, would visit the tower. with the tower’s being H in Victoria Square ft would be within 15 minutes walking distance of 80 per cent of Christchurch accommodation. Christchurch lacked a big inner-city attraction. The tower would offer a distinctive focal point and facilities and hours to suit visitors, said Mr Tulloch. The tower would -be open between 15 and 18 hours a day. Preliminary, discussions with the tourist industry had indicated a high level of interest in the project. Further report, page 9