The council is proposing to take the lead in a $55 million hotel and carpark project as part of its 2024-2034 Long-Term Plan, but whether the hotel will involve a new build or repurposing an existing property is yet to be finalised.
Dave Moore owns 6-8 St Hill St and is partway through turning the building - originally the Metropolitan Hotel - into high-end apartments.
Moore said a hotel, underground carpark and a stop for tour buses could fit in the area that currently contained his building, the “Ministry of Works” building at 62 Taupō Quay and the building at 64 Taupō Quay.
The owners of the other buildings - Shane Hobson and Mike O’Hara - have signed on for Moore’s plan.
It involves keeping the facades of all three but building new structures behind them, with parts of the existing structures being dismantled.
“We could future-proof [the facades] for another 100-odd years and there wouldn’t be much disturbance to the overall cityscape,” Moore said.
“It’s also an opportunity for the Metropolitan Hotel to be upsized. It could still be in the same style - Corinthian - but three or four storeys.
“That could potentially fulfil the council’s Long-Term Plan.”
A fire in 1949 destroyed the front upper storey of the Metropolitan building, and Moore planned to return it to its original scope.
“Even if it was kept at its original size, that’s still 30 or 40 rooms,” he said.
“You can also have a tourist bus hub behind these buildings which would allow them to get in and out. That would be an advantage to all the restaurants and things.
“It’s a natural fit down this end.”
O’Hara has owned 64 Taupō Quay for more than 20 years.
He said he recently retired from teaching and planned to open a shop in the front of the building.
Whanganui Deputy Mayor Helen Craig says building behind existing facades is done all over the world. Photo / Bevan Conley
However, he did not “want to be the fly in the ointment” if there was an opportunity to maximise the space for the benefit of the city.
While he was not keen on getting rid of his building, there was a massive amount of waste space behind it, O’Hara said.
“It could be a good spot for a hotel - that’s what’s really swaying me to throw my hat in.”
Whanganui Deputy Mayor and Whanganui Heritage Trust chairwoman Helen Craig said keeping facades and building new behind them was done all over the world.
“The facade of a building is generally where most of the heritage we talk about is seen,” she said.
“You see it on movie sets - a facade that looks pretty and the rest is just a tin roof and some walls. That’s literally how Whanganui was built. Most commercial buildings are pretty basic out the back.”
Moore, who operates restoration company Villa Services, estimated the cost of the entire project would be around $35m.
“A car-parking building doesn’t necessarily have to be a tower in the middle of town. It can be a substantial underground carpark, with maybe even two levels,” he said.
“That would take out most of the mud that was once the bank of the river which we’re on.”
The council has designated his building as flood-prone but he said if it took on the project, the whole area could be lifted to a suitable level.
He said the three apartments he had already completed could be moved off-site or repurposed in the new hotel complex.
Craig said there were very few places in the centre of Whanganui that did not have heritage value.
“Do you decide the hotel is more important than retaining that heritage because of Whanganui’s future, or do you say, ‘Nothing can happen because we have to save that heritage?’
“The reality is something will be affected no matter what we do or where we go.”
Moore was doing a beautiful job with his apartment project but it was not an easy venture in the current climate, she said.
“Commercial building inflation rates have been 25 per cent over the last three years.
“It’s a very difficult environment for building owners. He’s trying to be pragmatic and come up with solutions, so good on him.”
Moore will speak about his proposal during hearings on the council’s Long-Term Plan scheduled for May 14-16.
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
