Wellington's Deloitte House closed, businesses relocate

Thursday, 17 November 2016

Staff at Deloitte House in Wellington have been barred from entering the building until further structural inspections are carried out.

The Brandon St high-rise, which is owned by Precinct Properties, suffered damage to building services and fitouts following the deadly 7.8 magnitude that hit the country on Monday.

On Thursday, Precinct Properties chairman Craig Stobo said engineers carried out thorough structural inspections and most buildings were given the all clear.

'I am pleased to report that all of our buildings, with the exception of Deloitte House, were cleared for occupation and have in fact now been re-occupied,' he said at the company's annual general meeting.

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'The initial assessment for Deloitte House at 10 Brandon Street indicates that there has been some damage to building services and fitouts within this building and further assessments are being undertaken over the next two weeks.'

Originally built in 1983, Deloitte House was extensively refurbished in 2007, including an expanded floor plate and the addition of two storeys.

Precinct put the 16-level A-grade building on the market in October, Offers closed on November 9. 

Its rateable value in September last year was $48 million and it was sold to Precinct in 2007 for $56.75m.

The building has a large group of corporate and government tenants including Deloitte, OMV NZ, UXC Holdings and the Real Estate Agents Authority.

While further inspections are being carried out, companies are finding temporary work places.

Deloitte's Wellington office is operating from the Old Bank Chambers in Wellington.