Dreams to resurrect Dux de Lux at Arts Centre ‘finished’, says centre boss

Friday, 22 March 2024

The Dux de Lux at the Christchurch Arts Centre has been sitting damaged and empty since the 2011 earthquake.

Dreams to resurrect the much-loved Dux de Lux at the Arts Centre are “finished”, according to centre boss Philip Aldridge.

The news has devastated Dux founder Richard Sinke, who had launched a bid to restore the earthquake-damaged building with the help of a developer, a property investor and a fundraising expert.

However, Aldridge, the Arts Centre director, said on Thursday, “any conversations with them are finished”.

“That is all over and done with. We’ve got a much better scheme on the table. It’ll be much more beneficial for the Arts Centre,” Aldridge said.

He would not say what that scheme was, but did say it would be a restaurant/bar/brewery-type operation.

Sinke, who opened the Dux in the Arts Centre-owned building in 1978, said he was “hugely disappointed” and was “astounded” the Arts Centre was going to put another business in the Dux building.

“I find it incredulous.”

The Dux de Lux, on the corner of Montreal and Hereford streets, was much-loved for its sunny, sheltered courtyard, microbrewery, live music and food, but Sinke said it has been “looking dead and bedraggled” for 13 years.

“The Dux is synonymous with the Arts Centre and that building. You ask anybody in Christchurch and they would want to see the Dux back there. It held such a prominent place in people’s hearts and minds,” Sinke said.

James Stewart, who was part of the bid to resurrect the Dux, said he gets asked every week when the Dux is returning.

Dux de Lux founder Richard Sinke had formed a group to resurrect the Dux de Lux, but the Arts Centre says it is now in talks with another operator.

“People want the Dux back. They do not want some generic brew pub. They want a place where everyone can meet. The Dux was a melting pot for everyone.”

It also contributed to the arts by hosting hundreds of bands each year.

While the bid was in limbo, Stewart and Sinke believed the door had never been firmly closed and they still held out hope the Dux would return.

Aldridge’s comments on Thursday came as a surprise to them both.

They had hoped Mayor Phil Mauger would come through with an election promise to get the building restored and bring the Dux back.

Mauger said last year that council funding to help restore the Dux could be considered as part of the 10-year budget, the long-term plan.

However, there is no money for the Dux in the draft document, which was released for public consultation this week. In fact, there is no money for the entire Arts Centre in the draft plan.

The Dux de Lux, on the corner of Montreal and Hereford Sts, was much-loved for its sunny, sheltered courtyard, microbrewery, live music and food,

In a written statement issued this week, Mauger said he was still “absolutely committed” to finding a solution to getting the Dux de Lux building restored.

He said he’d had several discussions with the Arts Centre in the last 18 months.

“But there are still options for the Arts Centre to work with a private partnership directly to restore the Dux de Lux building if they’re prepared to do so.”

Stewart said the group had hoped for a $3m to $4m loan from the council, which would not have cost ratepayers, because the group would have covered the interest costs. They hoped that would have got the project across the line with the Arts Centre.

However, Aldridge said the scheme was simply not feasible and there was nothing in it for the Arts Centre.

It is a view that Stewart and Sinke vehemently disagree with.

Aldridge said the good news was that there was a new plan, but he refused to talk about it and instead, wanted to focus on saving the Arts Centre. He would not say who he was talking to or when a new operation would open in the Dux building.

“We can’t do anything unless we save the Arts Centre.”

Christchurch Arts Centre director Philip Aldridge says there is a much better scheme on the table that will be much more beneficial for the Arts Centre.

The Arts Centre launched a public campaign earlier this week to encourage people to put pressure on the Christchurch City Council to keep funding the centre.

The council did not include any funding for the Arts Centre in its draft 10-year budget released last week after giving it $1.83 million annually for the past three years.

Aldridge warned the trust would fold without council funding.

He said the centre had received a lot of support since news of the lack of council funding.

However, people have also been critical of how the centre has been run. Letters to the editor have criticised the number of staff, salaries and have called for the Dux to be reinstated along with the popular Saturday market.

Aldridge said people were “ill-informed and just trying to stir”.

He said a new Saturday market would launch from early May, and he hoped it would be reminiscent of the popular markets held pre-quake.

He said the Arts Centre was run “extremely leanly”.

While it employed 24 full-time equivalent staff, some of those were cleaners and security guards - jobs it used to contract out, but had taken in-house to save money.

He said pay rates were much lower than similar-level jobs at the city council.

While Aldridge would not say what his salary was, he said he took a 33% pay cut about four years ago and his salary had only increased by 15% since then.