B.N.Z. BUILDING

Evening Star, Issue 22774, 8 October 1937, Page 15

B.N.Z. BUILDING

LARGE NEW PREMISES IN AUCKLAND SEVEN-STMY STRUCTURE PLANNED [Psk United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, October 7. One of the largest projects in the history of Queen street is to be undertaken forthwith by the Bank of New Zealand in the replacement of the premises that have housed its Auckland branch for the past 70 years. It was announced to-day that preparations were being made for the erection of ft seven-story building rising to the full height permitted by the city by-laws, 102 ft, and covering the whole site between the premises of Messrs Milne and Choyce Ltd., and Swanson street. Mr W. G. Miller, manager of the Auckland branch of the bank, stated that the construction work would probably be started about the middle of next year. ’

Two Auckland architects, Mr R. Atkinson Abbott and Mr W. H. Gummer, of Messrs Gummer and Ford and Partners, have been commissioned to design the building They will leave shortly for Sydney and Melbourne, probably accompanied by a senior officer of the bank, to examine some of, the many large bank buildings that have been erected in Australia withinrecent years. The bank rounded off its Auckland property in May last by purchasing a three-story building on the corner of Queen and Swanson streets, occupied by a firm of clothiers and other tenants.

It already owns the Bank of New Zealand Chambers, a four-story office building fronting Swanson street, and this, together with the corner building will be demolished to make room for the new structure. The present intention is to use the two lower floors for the business of the bank and to iot the live upper floors to tenants. This arrangement will leave ample room for expansion in years to oome.