Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced on Saturday, July 23 that the Government would do its part to support the restoration and revival of the nationally significant and historic Queen St theatre. Video / Supplied / Aja Lethaby
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says he will recommend demolishing the historic St James Theatre if restoration work is not under way by July next year.
The theatre is where Sir Howard Morrison first performed Whakaaria Mai - his te reo Māori version of How Great Thou Art - in 1981, and Hollywood Golden Age couple Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier trod its boards in the late 1940s.
The long-decaying jewel of Auckland’s theatre history in the central city received a $15 million boost from the Government on Saturday, but it came with conditions and a cut-off date from Brown to release a matching $15m grant from the council.
With structural and seismic costs running into tens of millions of dollars, pressure is on heritage enthusiast Steve Bielby’s Auckland Notable Properties Trust to rustle up the rest of the renovation costs, meet the council and Government conditions, and get work under way by the deadline of June 30 next year.
Brown said the St James was a historic stage theatre and cinema, which if restored would provide another performing arts and cultural facility to enrich the lives of Aucklanders.
“But it currently sits derelict and uncertain – a dispiriting situation that ruins part of our city centre and blocks efforts at rejuvenating the area,” he said.
Brown has written to Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni - who is also Minister for Auckland - to confirm the $15m approved by the council in 2016 for the restoration remains in the current 10-year budget, but only until June 30 next year.
“Given the pressure on the council’s finances, I will not be proposing that this funding will be available in the next 10-year budget. This should provide the impetus for owners to get on with the project.
“In other words, if construction is not under way by June 2024 we will withdraw the funding and recommend the building is demolished,” Brown said.
Steve Bielby of the Auckland Notable Properties Trust, which is involved in the restoration of the St James Theatre in central Auckland. Photo / Nick Reed
Bielby said the trust has enough funding between the Government and council contributions to meet the council’s conditions for stage one - a structural and seismic upgrade and new services.
He said the trust has already put almost $15m into the restoration and still had to put some more money in, taking it to a $45m to $55m package of work.
“We are confident there is enough funding in place to start the project and complete stage one,” he said.
Sepuloni said the Government’s $15m was conditional on funding conditions that were being developed with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and mana whenua, and agreed between herself and Finance Minister Grant Robertson.
Two years earlier, former Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Kiri Allan said the full restoration costs could be up to $100m, and a previous estimate of $66.6m has been reported.
The Heritage NZ Category 1 building has been in sad decline since closing its doors in 2007 when a fire sparked concerns about safety and compliance, and then remaining largely abandoned since losing funds for restoration a decade later.
Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni, and Steve Bielby at the St James Theatre for Saturday's $15m announcement. Photo / Supplied
The theatre shut after Target Furniture heir and heritage enthusiast Bielby’s trust started work it couldn’t finish when the neighbouring St James Apartment scheme was axed in 2016 due to lack of sales and rising construction costs.
The preservation and conservation of the theatre is no longer dependent on the construction of an apartment complex next door, Sepuloni’s office confirmed.
On Saturday, Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick put the funding commitment down to “years of community organising” by many people.
“Across the mayor’s office and ministry, we’ve confirmed shovels should be able to get in the ground within a year,” the Green MP said.
Dr Esther Aigwi from AUT’s School of future environments, and a specialist in adaptive reuse of historic buildings, said the funding news was a positive step for inner-city regeneration.
“It is encouraging to see the Government investing in the restoration of this iconic Category 1 heritage building and a promising development for Auckland and its residents, anticipating the economic and socio-cultural benefits that will be gained,” she said.
The theatre’s restoration will be discussed by councillors at Thursday’s governing body meeting.
Bernard Orsman is an Auckland-based reporter who has been covering local government and transport since 1998. He joined the Herald in 1990 and worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.
