Centreport announced on October 10 that it will demolish the Wellington Statistics House building, located on the city’s waterfront.
The 12-year-old building was badly damaged in the 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura earthquake in November last year. The building sustained irreparable damage to two floors which partially collapsed.
An investigation commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation in March, found the building performed unacceptably in the shaking and could have caused fatalities.
The nearby headquarters of the Bank of New Zealand Wellington and the Greater Wellington Regional Council were also declared unsafe.
Centreport, Wellington’s port company which owns the Statistics House building, reported a $35.7 million loss in the first half of its financial year due to earthquake damage.
The company determined the building would be too expensive to repair and will now apply to the Wellington City Council for consent to demolish the building.
Currently, Centreport has not determined whether it will rebuild on that site or use it for other purposes.
