DISCUSSION | Quake Damaged Buildings

[voyager8907]

Originally Posted by jarden

I thought the IRD building was fit enough to stay amazing how things change so quickly.
What is left not to be demolished...anything?

Um...Forsyth Barr I think?
They are still repairing it right?

[jarden]

Maybe the jury is still out on that one.
I expect the owner will be pressured to demolish it by the likes of Gery Brownlee as for it being too high for "his" new Christchurch town plan.

[voyager8907]

Originally Posted by jarden

Maybe the jury is still out on that one.
I expect the owner will be pressured to demolish it by the likes of Gery Brownlee as for it being too high for "his" new Christchurch town plan.

Yeah, I am sick of this anti high-rise stuff.
All high-rises being too dangerous for modern Christchurch is total crap.

[fozzy]

Couldn't agree more there are plenty of cities in seismic areas with perfectly good highrises.

[KaneD]

Last I heard the Forsyth Barr is staying. I know the guys that are doing the project management on the building so I'll ask and see

[MattTheTubaGuy]

In one of the videos on stuff showing the cathedral tower being demolished, I noticed that some of the concrete panels are being taken off the Novotel Hotel. anyone know what is happening with that?

[voyager8907]

Originally Posted by KaneD

Last I heard the Forsyth Barr is staying. I know the guys that are doing the project management on the building so I'll ask and see

If you do and it is staying could you ask if they are giving it a full renovation?

[Milan Luka]

Originally Posted by MattTheTubaGuy

In one of the videos on stuff showing the cathedral tower being demolished, I noticed that some of the concrete panels are being taken off the Novotel Hotel. anyone know what is happening with that?

Here's your answer Matt

Repairs start on Novotel Hotel

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/bus...-Novotel-Hotel

Earthquake repairs costing $3.6 million have begun on the 14-storey Novotel Hotel in Christchurch.

The four-star Cathedral Square hotel was just a year old at the time of the February 2011 earthquake and has been closed since. It is within the no-go red zone.

Work being done by Hawkins Construction will include repairing the hotel's shear walls, replacing cracked exterior cladding on the north and south walls, and replacing windows facing west and south.

The hotel will also be completely refurbished inside at extra cost.

The hotel business is part of the French Accor chain, while the building is owned by United States hotel real estate company Host Hotels and Resorts, and the land by Christchurch investor Gordon Chamberlain.

Sydney-based Accor spokesman Peter Hook said the work would take nearly a year.

Assessing the damage, planning repairs and gaining consent had taken a year and it was a relief to see work under way, Hook said.

''It's a very new building and structurally it's in pretty good shape, so it's not a major job, but it's a time-consuming one,'' he said.

''Obviously we would have liked to do it earlier, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.''

The hotel will reopen with about 150 rooms after losing 40 when the adjoining historic Warners Hotel next door was demolished.

Chamberlain, who also owns the Warners site, said he had not yet made any rebuilding plans.

''I will be just waiting to see what the market tells me.''

Repairs are further ahead at Accor's three-star, eight-storey Ibis Hotel in Hereford St.

The building, also owned by Host Hotels on land owned by Chamberlain, is expected to reopen in September.

Hook said Accor had been working closely with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and expected the cordons would be opened in time for access to both hotels.

Accor New Zealand vice-president Paul Richardson said the demolition of the former BNZ building in Cathedral Square and the Clarendon Tower in Worcester St could affect timetables.

''There's not much point opening if there's no way to get in there, but things can change rapidly. That's why we are being conservative with our estimates,'' he said.

Hook said restaffing both hotels would not take long. Many staff had been shifted to other hotels across Australia and New Zealand and they would be given priority.

Hook said bookings had not yet been taken for the Novotel, but the Ibis would be ''relaunched to the international market'' next week.

He expected both hotels to be in demand from guests arriving Christchurch to work on the rebuild.

The chain's All Seasons Hotel in Cashel St, formerly property developer David Henderson's Hotel So, is next to the Hotel Grand Chancellor, which is being demolished, and has not yet been properly assessed.