Wellington’s abandoned Courtenay Central sold
Tuesday, 7 January 2025
Wellington’s long-abandoned Reading Cinema complex has been sold.
The Courtenay Central site has sat empty for six years, and was the subject of a controversial and ultimately unsuccessful council deal.
The new owner is Primeproperty, which owns office buildings and hotels in the capital and around the country. The company has not said if or how it intends to develop the site.
Wellington businesses are welcoming the sale of the Reading Cinema complex to a well-known local developer.
Eyal Aharoni told The Post that his company, Primeproperty, had bought the Courtenay Place site.
A focal point in the capital’s entertainment precinct, the Courtenay Central complex has sat empty for over six years. International owner Reading Cinema and retail tenants shut up shop in early 2019 after an independent engineer issued a report on the property’s seismic risk.
The abandoned property brought down the general vibe of Courtenay Place, said Karl Tiefenbacher – the owner of nearby icecreamery Kaffee Eis. He was delighted by the news.
“Reading were the wrong owners for the site. I’m glad it’s gone to a local who hopefully will do some fantastic things with it.”
With the cinemas drawing people into the area, local bar owner Greig Wilson said the number of customers in the early evening dropped significantly after the cinemas closed. “Every business on the strip felt it.”
The building was listed for sale last year after a failed deal between the Reading Cinema owners and the city council, led by mayor Tory Whanau.
Leaked details confirmed the council intended to purchase the land underneath the cinema site for $32 million, which Reading Cinemas would use to revitalise the building. The land would then be leased back to the multinational company.
After public backlash and accusations of corporate welfare, the deal fell through.
Greig Wilson, a local bar owner, thought the mayor deserved some credit for the progress. “While that deal didn’t happen, this one did. She started that conversation… After six years, finally we have some action.”
Whanau also welcomed the sale. “[I] look forward to hearing what the new owner’s development plans are for the site.”
A revitalisation, alongside the council’s work to revamp the Golden Mile, would bring “new life and energy to this key area of our city”, the mayor said in a statement.
Wilson hoped the new development would feature cinema screens, alongside modern eating options. “In central Wellington, there is a big gap for a large movie complex,” he said.
“To have [the complex] reinstated really gives us confidence to keep investing in that area and our businesses. For the whole street, talking to the businesses, everyone is delighted.”
Tiefenbacher would welcome the return of hospitality and theatres, though he thought there was also plenty of room for apartments and even offices.
“It’s a massive site. Hopefully it gets utilised to its fullest,” Tiefenbacher said. “It would be really nice if we see a link between the waterfront and Courtenay Place that flows through nicely and draws people between the two.”
At worst, the complex would continue to sit undeveloped, he said.
“It’s going to take a couple of years for anything really significant to change… Hopefully we get a start sooner rather than later, so we’re not having the same conversation a decade from now.”
Primeproperty has stayed mum on the complex’s future.
The company owns a number of sites across the capital, including two Mercure hotels and Asteron House on The Terrace.
Primeproperty also purchased the Amora Hotel in 2018, which has sat empty since 2017. Last year, the company confirmed its longstanding plan to refurbish the once-luxury hotel, but said it needed to wait until strengthening work on an adjacent carpark was completed this year.