Despite new plans to revitalise a neglected part of Napier's city centre, much of its future is still uncertain.
Napier City Council's acting director of community services Darran Gillies in the shadow of the old council chambers, which will start being demolished next month. Photo: Tom Kitchin/RNZ
The seaside Hawke's Bay city is known for its art deco buildings and palm trees in its main shopping streets.
But just a few blocks south and a three-minute walk away, a big block of old public buildings sit empty. The Napier City Council has described it as "quiet" and "struggling".
The centrepiece of this area is the old council chambers and civic centre.
The building, along with the adjoining library tower has been closed since 2017, when it was shut because it was earthquake prone.
"It was your classic kind of public works building of the '60s," the council's acting director of community services Darran Gillies told RNZ.
"It's not the most attractive building in the the world."
Back in 2017, a seismic assessment was completed, which found it was only 10 percent of the New Building Standard, leaving it earthquake prone.
The adjoining library building was built in the 1980s, which also housed council staff and the IRD. That was only 15 per cent of the new building standard, so the building was also left empty in 2017.
A hotel was touted to replace the civic building, but Gillies said plans had changed.
"On the front side by Hastings St, a hotel was a possibility... but with time and Covid and our economic changes, that was something that was no longer deemed as an opportunity."
On August 1, the civic building will start being demolished. This is due to be finished by the end of the year.
"The plan really here is first to level that building and level the site ... and then we're currently about to go into what's called concept design for the new community facility," Gillies said.
"That's likely to be two storeys and that will include a new public library as well as new public meeting rooms, rooms for community groups, as well as the council chambers.''
Gillies said architects had so far helped the council develop a design brief and business case for that project, which outlined the "core ingredients" and "space uses" for the site.
He said architects and engineers would turn it into the "concept design", with public and mana whenua input. Then the council would get a "firm idea" on what that could cost in the building market.
The council currently occupies three buildings in the city centre and the council has its meetings in different venues, such as the War Memorial Centre and Hawke's Bay Regional Council chambers.
After demolition finished at the end of the year, Gillies said the site could remain empty for around 18 months.
But the old library building and tower, joined to the civic building by a linkbridge, would stay for the moment.
"Our first part was to get the public facing part of council done first, and then we cast our eyes on to the [old] library building," Gillies said.
"It's also about being budgetarily prudent as well, to make sure we get the bit that's done right first for the public, and then we go 'can we do the right thing for our employees as well."
He said council staff would produce a business case, figuring out how much it would cost to restregthen and what use it should have.
Tourism House, just north of the civic centre, is being redeveloped. Photo: Tom Kitchin/RNZ
They would and then put that in front of the new council, who will be elected later this year, in the next triennium.
The rest of the empty block
Beside the old civic buildings sits Dalton and Vauiter House, built for the Government in the 1980s. Until last year, it housed government departments such as the Ministry for Social Development and Oranga Tamariki.
It has been owned by local commercial property investor Mark Brown-Thomas since 1999.
He has had ideas to develop it into inner city living, a retirement village or hotel. But he was now holding off.
"At the moment, we're just waiting to see what the city council does with the block next door - it's probably not going to be a good idea if we start doing something only to find the council next door is going to change the use.
"To us, it seems a bit silly if we then go and negotiate with people for an international hotel, only to find that the library building is going to become a hotel as well. Two hotels that close together in a provincial town is not going to work.
"In the meantime, we've got for lease signs up and we're quite happy, if businesses want to come and be in the inner city and do it on a short-term basis - two or three years - we suspect council planning will take that long anyway. We would love to have tenants in the building but if we have to wait a while we have to wait a while."
He tried to sell it earlier this year, but that failed.
"We'd felt that we'd priced it to sell it, but unfortunately for whatever reason that didn't transpire."
On the northern side of the civic centre, Mike Walker Management is redeveloping Tourism House.
Mike Walker said they had stripped the building out. Current tenants would remain on the ground floor, the first floor would be occupied by law firm Willis Legal and the next would have six apartments.
He described the building when he and a group of others bought it as "slightly depressed".
"The atrium itself wasn't properly lit, the paving was quite dated and unappealing... it was sort of a bit of a rabbit's warren I guess."
But he hoped the new development would improve that.
"We've gone with new, flash shop fronts - it will feel really modern and attractive."
The ground floor atrium was due to open in around a month, the law firm at the end of the year and the apartments early next year.
