Quake prone 1904 building to be demolished

Another earthquake-prone building in Masterton's Lincoln Road is to be demolished to make way for future re-development.

The brick building most recently housed Lamberts Cycles but had previously been the Ambassador Lounge and before that Masterton Printing Company.

It is to be demolished by contractors working for Lands Trust Masterton with the site then being land-banked to allow for more development on the corner of Lincoln Road and Chapel Street.

Trust chairman Alan Sadler said it would take about three weeks to bring the building down and remove the spoil after which time the land would be cleared, left tidy and land-banked.

During demolition, the site will be fenced off and as much work as is possible would be done after business hours to keep disruption to nearby businesses, traffic and pedestrians to a minimum. Neighbouring buildings would be protected during demolition, Mr Sadler said.

The work is expected to begin next week.

Razing the old cycle shop is the latest move in the trust's re-development plans for business in Masterton and to safeguard the safety of its assets from possible damage by earthquakes.

Two buildings in the same block as the cycle shop have already been levelled and replaced by Burger King and a park area.

The cycle shop was built in 1904 and was home to the Wairarapa Age before the merger that created Wairarapa Times-Age. It then became Masterton Printing Company and in 1984, the Ambassador Lounge.

This year, Lands Trust Masterton has demolished a building on Dixon Street that was once part of Plastalon, releasing land that can be re-developed and which runs right through to Queen Street.

It has also built a new building in Lincoln Road on the site of the earthquake-prone Opera House, named Waiata House and which houses Pathways, CareNZ and Workwise.