A large brutal concrete monolith in Napier, which is so unsafe it has led to neighbouring houses lying abandoned for nine years, is coming down this year, finally.
Better known as the Hinepare nurses hostel, a vestige of the old, demolished Napier Hospital, this abandoned four-storey mass of useless concrete and all its accoutrements has stood above the city since the 1950s.
It ceased being used as a nurses hostel when the nearby Napier hospital – since demolished – closed in 1998 and was used as a backpackers hostel until being deemed earthquake prone in 2012. The building has been neglected and vandalised ever since.
It is in the hands of Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (Linz), as part of a Treaty settlement landbank.
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Also in Linz hands is the charming neighbouring well-kept three-bedroom, 1930s stucco house with stunning views, valued at $805,000, which has been vacant since 2014 due to the threat posed by the nurses block.
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The house at the bottom left has been empty since 2014 due to the threat posed by the large empty earthquake-prone building behind it.
All of this is due to change this year, with Linz soon to act on the building permit it was granted in May 2021 to demolish the nurses block.
Linz project and hazard management delivery manager Matt Bradley said preparation had been under way for some time and demolition should start in July or August. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The demolition job, which includes demolition of the Tuakana Annex building, a short distance away at 20 Hospital Terrace, is expected to cost $3m to $3.5m.
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The house at 2 Sixty Fifth St, Napier.
“We’re trying to recycle as much as we can. At Hinepare we expect to recycle as much as 90 per cent of the concrete from the structure, and that will have multiple re-uses,” he said.
“The property is part of the landbank treaty settlement portfolio so once this work here is completed it will be offered to the Mana Ahuriri Trust as part of their treaty settlement offer, and they’ll have the decision if they wish to purchase it or not.”
Once the demolished, the neighbouring house could be reoccupied, Bradley said.
John Cowpland/Stuff
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand’s manager project and hazard management delivery Matt Bradley at the site on Tuesday.
The house, at 2 Sixty Fifth St, has a floor area of 150sqm and sits on 506sqm section. Homes.co.nz puts its value at $805,000.
Another house nearby on Linz property, at 2 Parade St, which Homes.co.nz values at $690,000 will also be able to be reinhabited, after being vacant since 2017 due to the risk posed by the nurses block.
Both houses will also ultimately be offered to Mana Ahuriri Trust.
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