Railways plans to develop bus depot site

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 24

Railways plans to develop bus depot site

The New Zealand Railways bus depot site on Victoria Street is ripe for development and the Railways Corporation is determined to be I the developer. The corporation’s regional property manager in Christchurch, Mr Grant Ancell, said “We are not going to give the opportunity away for someone else to make a profit from it” The corporation announced its intention to sell the site in December, 1985. When its value was realised the decision was reversed. Mr Ancell said the corporation was investigating development possibilities — an office block or a hotel were options being considered.

“If it is a hotel there are going to be a lot of hotels in one corner and that is a decision that will have to be looked at carefully,” he said. The intersection of Durham, Victoria, and Kilmore streets is home for the Parkroyal Hotel, and the Quality Inn. A third hotel behind the ShangriLa is on the drawing board for the developers, Prime West. Mr Ancell said that if the Railways opted for a hotel to match the quality of the Parkroyal it would have to seek advice from, if not partnership with, an established hotel developer. Business as usual would continue at the bus depot until the site was required, he said.