New hotel plan for Victoria Mansions
Thursday, 23 January 2025
After several attempts to restore the heritage Victoria Mansions building in central Christchurch, its owner has a new plan to reopen it as a boutique hotel.
Ceres NZ Ltd, which bought the quake-damaged building a decade ago, has applied for resource consent to extend the building to create a 59-room five-star hotel with a restaurant, bar and car park.
The plan removes an adjacent multi-storey tower building that was a key part of earlier proposals.
Victoria Mansions is on the corner of Victoria, Montreal and Salisbury streets in the central city, behind the Victoria Clock Tower.
Ceres NZ’s new proposal is to add two extra storeys, setting them back from the existing frontages. It would also extend the L-shaped building outwards at the back, replicating the existing architectural style, to square it off.
This would create sufficient space for a financially viable hotel, the consent application says. The building is now four storeys high.
A vacant adjacent site facing Victoria St, also owned by Ceres NZ, will provide off-street parking. Together the sites also have access from Peterborough St.
“The proposed hotel comprises a reception, bar and restaurant area, which will assist in activating the ground floor area with the adjoining streetscape,” the company’s consent application says.
“The restored Victoria Mansions building will also provide a sympathetic backdrop to the Victoria Clock Tower.”
The application says the two new levels “will have more of vertical emphasis” and will be constructed of lightweight materials such as bronze-coloured metal fins and glass.
“This will result in the new addition having a lightness, which will ensure that it does not overpower the existing structure.”
The company spent several years in negotiations with its insurance company before settling the claim. It has released restoration plans including an upscale apartment building, and a 132-room hotel with a new tower block behind. One iteration included a 14-storey tower.
Two plans previously presented to the council, one in 2017 and one in 2023, raised concerns from council staff that the proposed adjoining tower would dominate the heritage building.
Victoria Mansions was listed on the city council’s so-called Dirty 30 list of sites considered barriers to the rebuild.
Ceres NZ’s operations manager, Swaroop Gowda, hoped councillors would support the latest application. Removing the tower made the design much less intrusive, and they were hopeful of a positive outcome this time, he said.
“We would like to get going immediately, if we get consent. We want to get the project running, and a lot of other people in the city want to see it done, too.”
Gowda said while they do not want to disclose financial details, the project would be a significant investment.
The building dates from the mid-1930s, when it was built from concrete and brick as a luxury block of 21 flats, with a rooftop penthouse, restaurant, and car park “for residents who own a motorcar”.
It was designed by architect Heathcote Helmore in the Moderne style, which is related to Art Deco.
Over the years it has been used for a mix of residential and business accommodation.
In a note supporting Ceres NZ’s resource consent application, Heritage NZ says while the plan would result in “substantial irreversible changes”, it considers it an opportunity to retain and restore an important heritage building, and the benefits would outweigh any adverse affects.
Ceres NZ, which is owned by Florida-based David McIntyre, established itself in New Zealand in 2011 and also owns The Peterborough heritage buildings near the Victoria Mansions, which is also awaiting restoration.
Gowda said they would focus on The Peterborough after Victoria Mansions are restored.