The Ngai Tahu banner is flying high on the construction site of the new Christchurch City Council chambers. Formerly home to the New Zealand Post Office, the building is owned by
Ngai Tahu and is currently undergoing
a massive $113-million overhaul to make it ready for the council. The
Joint Venture Project is on budget and on time and it’s going to look quite spectacular when it’s finished, with grand entrances on both the south and north sides of the building.
And like the new Ngai Tahu-owned Post Office Precinct in Queenstown, the Christchurch building will benefit from
Ngai Tahu Property’s new Pouwhenua Project – the placing of designed-based markers (made by Ngai Tahu artists) on Ngai Tahu-owned properties, so that iwi members can visit iwi sites and see an obvious connection with their own heritage. It’s going to be quite exciting to see what happens here in Christchurch on this prime location.
www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz
I'm enjoying keeping an eye on progress as the new Christchurch Civic Centre develops. The revamp of the old Post Office in Hereford Street is a $113-million joint venture project between Ngai Tahu Property and the Christchurch City Council - each contributing $56.5 million to the massive makeover. The below image shows work on tyhe striking main entrance on Worcester Street (opposite Christchurch Art Gallery); the top image is a side view from Cambridge Terrace. The development is so far on-time and on-budget and when it is completed in July-August, it will become home to over 1,000 council staff. It is the first public-private partnership of its kind in New Zealand. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz 
