Multi-storeyed former Napier Hospital nurses’ hostel and hilltop landmark Hinepare could be demolished next year, after being derelict for more than a decade.
Government agency Land Information New Zealand (Linz) recently sought tenders for the demolition and a spokesperson said it is hoped a contractor will be appointed in the new year.
The now 70-year-old building on Napier Tce was one victim of the closure of Napier Hospital in 1997 and had been leased by Bruce and Janice Raitt. It was being run as a hostel, mainly for seasonal horticultural workers, when the sudden order to close came as a result of failing an earthquake risk assessment in 2012.
It had been rated at no better than 33 per cent of the New Building Standard as thousands of buildings were reviewed following the Christchurch earthquakes.
Along with several other sites in Napier, including former hospital board sites, Hinepare is one of about 900 landbanked nationwide by Linz for potential use in Treaty settlements.
