In June, Christchurch CBD red zone was gapped by CERA opening Gloucester St to the public, forming N & S red zones. In the interim, I'd trekked red zone cordons in bits, viewing many demolitions. It was time to see the S red zone. I parked on Tuam St, near demolished Poplar St, where Jake had flatted, pre-quakes at Poplar Mews: demolished.
16.11.12. Demolished Poplar St, S red zone. The bldgs would survived the quakes as restored Dux Central restaurant. The statue would not survive the quakes
Tuam St: Snapped the old PO where Alice in Videoland opened months before & more recently C1 coffee shop opened facing High St. Trekked trashed High St. S red zoning to Lichfield St was mostly demolition sites. High St / Lichfield St, Majestic Theatre ghost awaited demolition in 2014. Beyond, Holiday Inn high-rise was being demolished.
17.11.12. Tuam St view, post quake EPIC, Tuam St / Manchester St. Opp cnr part demolished Odeon Theatre
16.11.12. Tuam St view, post quake EPIC left, part demolished Odeon Theatre middle, C1 coffee shop (old PO) right
16.11.12. C1 coffee shop (old PO), Tuam St / High St
16.11.12. ROAD CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. High St view, Holiday Inn demolition left, Majestic Theatre awaiting demolition right, S red zone
16.11.12. High St view, Holiday Inn demolition, S red zone
Opp direction, I trekked High St to St Asaph St. Hi-Vis vested workmen on scaffolding repaired McKenzie Willis facade, propped by steel bracing. Brick ghosts along High St, in the red zone S Frame, decayed after 12 000 quakes, rubbish in the bldgs & partial collapses. A ghost near McKenzie Willis would soon collapse in a 07.12.12 fire.
16.11.12. McKenzie Willis facade restoration, Tuam St / High St, S red zone
16.11.12. Quake survivor bldg, High St, S red zone. The bldg would collapse in a 07.12.12 fire
16.11.12. Black skip. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake survivor bldg, High St, S red zone
Madras St: Trekked N, past another view of Poplar St, demolished precinct, wafting smells of demolished bars & restaurants. Another view of Holiday Inn demolition.
16.11.12. Madras St, N view: NG Gallery right in CCDU's Blueprint stadium zone
16.11.12. Madras St view, Holiday Inn demolition, S red zone. Majestic Theatre awaited demolition front
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Madras St, N view: Demolition site, abandoned IR bldg left, red zone, S Frame. NG Gallery right in CCDU's Blueprint stadium zone
Trekked past revamped NG Gallery, which obstructed CCDU's Blueprint, 35,000 seater, roofed stadium. But stadia were loss-makers & the proposed stadium would be built on Christchurch Fault, which damaged Christchurch CBD in 26.12.10 Boxing Day Quake. A decade post quakes, by Oct 2022, there would be the beginnings of construction work on the stadium, behind a solid steel fence.
Madras St / Lichfield St crossing: Demolition sites on all cnrs. One cnr, a ghost wall stood with gaping windows, another wall tagged. The opp cnr had Gap Filler art on a wall, other walls were tagged.
Madras St / Bedford Row: From the old stable demolition site behind IRD multi-storey ghost in the red zone, S Frame, I saw Holiday Inn demolition. Bedford Row: New apartments would be built without garages, thus causing parking hassles on Bedford Row, shortened to accommodate E Frame / Rauora Park!
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Part demolished bldg, tagging, Madras St / Lichfield St
16.11.12. Gap Filler mural, tagging, Madras St / Lichfield St. Abandoned IR bldg left, red zone, S Frame
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Old stable demolition site, Madras St / Lichfield St, split between red zone, S Frame left, red zone, E Frame right
16.11.12. Old stable demolition site, Madras St / Bedford Row, abandoned IR bldg right, red zone E Frame
16.11.12. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Quake trashed, tagged bldg, awaited demolition for CCDU's Blueprint stadium, demolition site right, Madras St
Madras St / Cashel St crossing: 185 Empty Chairs Memorial to 185 dead in the 22.02.11 Killer Quake was relocated from Oxford Tce Baptist, demolition site to St Pauls Trinity Pacific Presbyterian, demolition site, diag opp CTV demo site. Nearby ghosts were tagged, even the church bldg honouring quake dead was tagged. Down Cashel St in the S red zone I again saw Holiday Inn demolition.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Tribute to quake dead & tagging by St Pauls Trinity Pacific Presbyterian, demolition site, Cashel St / Madras St
16.11.12. Orange, plastic bollard cordon. 185 Empty Chairs Memorial to quake dead, St Pauls Trinity Pacific Presbyterian, demolition site, Madras St / Cashel St. CTV demo site, diag opp cnr
16.11.12. Tagging, Cashel St / Madras St
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Cashel St view, Holiday Inn demolition, S red zone
Opp cnr, Holden Blackwells was demolished. By CTV demolition site, red zone, the steel mesh fence cordon had floral & pic tributes to 115 dead. Beyond CTV demolition site was Arrow House demolition site & more demolition sites nudging Les Mills gym & Calendar Girls along Hereford St.
CERA still left CTV site a steel mesh fence cordoned mess. Only 3 years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, after complaints from families, just before the memorial service, would CERA improve CTV site.
16.11.12. Orange, plastic bollard cordon. Steel mesh fence cordon. Floral tributes, pics to 115 dead, CTV demolition site, Cashel St / Madras St
Madras St / Hereford St: Concrete foundations were laid for the Anglican Cardboard Cathedral. Today the High Court quashed Heritage hailers' pleas to save Christ Church Cathedral ruin & ensured the Anglican church had to use ruined cathedral insurance payout to pay for a new cathedral, merged with good bits of the old in Cathedral Sq. But cordoned eyesore, Christ Church Cathedral saga would continue for years...
16.11.12. Anglican Cardboard Cathedral foundations, St Johns demolition site, Madras St / Hereford St
Across Arrow House demolition site I looked into the steel mesh fence cordoned, S red zone by Hereford St. 2019. The demo site would become Liverpool Terraces.
16.11.12. Arrow House demolition site view, S red zone, Madras St / Hereford St. Torrens House left awaited demolition. Arrow House demo site would become Liverpool Terraces
16.11.12. SW cnr, Latimer Sq / Hereford St
16.11.12. Latimer Sq view, Hereford St into the S red zone. Calendar Girls left would be demolished for CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park
16.11.12. Hereford St view, S red zone. Les Mills gym left
Latimer Sq / Worcester St: Damaged, The Christchurch Club, part demolished, mouldered behind a DANGER threat sign on a locked gate. CERA occupied CBD had become extremely unfriendly. The threat sign continued: UNAUTHORISED PERSONS KEEP OUT. Formal threat signs vs taggers' graffiti abounded in CERA occupied CBD. The Bicycle Thief ghost, opp cnr would be demolished for apartments built in 2021.
Worcester St: Taggers added graffiti to USAR / TF graffiti on the Frenz Backpacker ghost wall & the Health Clinic ghost wall. Heath Clinic windows were broken, office floors strewn with junk. The Christchurch Club would survive the quakes, but the other 3 bldgs would be demolished for apartments built in 2021. Watched 3 orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen saunter down Worcester St towards Christ Church Cathedral ghost in the S red zone.
16.11.12. Quake trashed, abandoned, The Christchurch Club, Worcester St, S red zone. The Christchurch Club would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned, The Bicycle Thief, Worcester St, S red zone. The bldg would be demolished for apartments built in 2021
16.11.12. Hard hatted, Hi-Vis vested workmen, Worcester St, S red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. USAR / TF graffiti & tagging, abandoned Frenz Backpackers, Worcester St, S red zone. The bldg would be demolished for apartments built in 2021
16.11.12. Quake trashed, abandoned Health Clinic, Worcester St, S red zone. The bldg would be demolished for apartments built in 2021
Worcester St / Manchester St: Trekked across Newstalk ZB implosion site to Westende House, which was rebuilt after collapsing in 04.09.10 Darfield Quake. It was ground zero for TV news reports after that quake. (Brand new Westende House would be demolished in 2015 for widening of Manchester St in CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park). In that big demolition zone beside Manchester St, I was surrounded by demolition sites. Behind the steel mesh fence cordon I saw Holiday Inn demolition again, above the rest.
16.11.12. Worcester St, Newstalk ZB implosion site view, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel & red zone
16.11.12. Westende House rebuild, Manchester St / Worcester St. S red zone beyond. Westende House was trashed in the 04.09.10 quake & used as Ground Zero backdrop by media. In 2015 CERA / CCDU would demolish Westende House to widen Manchester St for CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park
16.11.12. Worcester St view, Holiday Inn demolition, S red zone
Diagonally opp cnr, The Octagon / Trinity Church ghost, sans tower, behind a red zone, steel mesh fence cordon. Also Design & Arts College ghost & Government Departmental Building. Across Worcester St on a demolition site, where a bldg had burned in 04.09.10 Darfield Quake, orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen chomped their lunches near a Cathedral Junction wall, splattered with orange paint by an artist, fantasizing he improved that gap.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. The Octagon / Trinity Church, sans tower, Design & Arts College, Worcester St / Manchester St, S red zone. Both bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Worcester St / Manchester St: Westende House view, S red zone bldgs: Government Departmental Building left, Heritage Hotel, Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel beyond left, Cathedral Junction right. All those bldgs would survive the quakes, except Westende House
16.11.12. Workmen at lunch, Manchester St demolition site. Government Departmental Building, Worcester St, in S red zone beyond, would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Manchester St view, demolition site & Gap Filler street art on Cathedral Junction wall, S red zone. The bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Worcester St view, The Octagon / Trinity Church, sans tower & S red zone. The Octagon / Trinity Church would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel walls epoxy resin glued, Manchester St. Pacific Tower would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Demolition site, carpark & abandoned, multi-storey carpark, Manchester St / Gloucester St. The multi-storey carpark would be demolished, Sept 2015, for CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park
16.11.12. The Wizard poster, demolition site carpark, Manchester St / Gloucester St
Demolition sites along Manchester St were carparks for workmen. A white trailer sold food to workmen. Wizard poster on a car:
DECONSTRUCT CERA
NOW!
WE WANT OUR CITY BACK
CERA made top down decisions, sidelining Council & doing little consulting with citizens regarding CCDU's Blueprint anchor projects. Besides one bloated Council hierarchy, NZ National govt's, bloated CERA bureaucracy was supposedly doing the job ratepayers elected Councillors & minions to do. Waste of money, Council vs CERA.
N along Manchester St, in the red zone, next to the multi-storey carpark ghost, Orion utility bldg would survive the quakes. Multi-storey carpark would be demolished, Sept 2015, for CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park.
16.11.12. Faux pissoir. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Gloucester St view, demolition site left. White bldg would be demolished for the Margaret Mahy Family Playground in CERA's Blueprint E Frame. Multi storey carpark right would be demolished for CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park
16.11.12. Manchester St / Gloucester St view, Sampan House, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous House, Cathedral Junction, The Press new build. Those bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Manchester St / Gloucester St, W view, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel, Cathedral Junction, The Press new build. N red zone right. The bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Gloucester St, S view, demolition sites to Worcester St. The Octagon / Trinity Church, sans tower left, Design & Arts College middle & Gap Filler Street art, Cathedral Junction right, S red zone. The bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Manchester St / Gloucester St, demolition site view, N red zone. Abandoned BNZ beyond awaited demolition
Gloucester St: Trekked past closed Sampan House, past Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel. Pacific Tower walls were spiderwebbed by epoxy resin repairs, then whitewashed! Like so many epoxy resin repairs to Christchurch ghosts, especially concrete tilt-slab bldgs.
More DANGER threat signs on Cathedral Junction gates. New Regent St, steel mesh fence cordoned in the red zone, was busy with workmen restoring Spanish Mission facades, which would open in Feb 2013. Multi-storey BNZ ghost loomed behind, awaiting demolition. But New Regent St "repairs" would have at least 5 Spanish Mission bldgs not repaired for many years!
16.11.12. Cathedral Junction gates, S red zone, Gloucester St. Cathedral Junction would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. New Regent St restoration, N red zone. BNZ behind awaited demolition
Workmen shifted boards from a ute into The Press front door.
16.11.12. Workmen shifting a board into The Press, Gloucester St. Demolition site & abandoned Camelot Hotel in S red zone beyond. Camelot Hotel would be demolished for Central Library / Turanga rebuild
Red zone, Isaac Theatre Royal, being restored: Facade boarded, nylon strapped, scaffolded. Side wall, braced with steel. Theatre auditorium, gutted, stage & flies OK. Watched a green digger moving rubble by the other side wall.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, The Press left & Isaac Theatre Royal restoration, N red zone right
16.11.12. Isaac Theatre Royal restoration, Gloucester St, N red zone
The Press demolition site & Warners Hotel demolition site, near Novotel in the S red zone, became a carpark. Beyond in the red zone were Government Departmental Building, Heritage Hotel & Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel, Cathedral Sq. A crane hoisted orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen in a crane box up to Novotel multi-storey, being repaired.
16.11.12. Gloucester St view, The Press & Warners Hotel demolition sites, carpark to Worcester St. The Press left, Government Departmental Building, Heritage Hotel, Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel middle, Novotel right. The bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Gloucester St view, workmen in crane box hoisted to Novotel. Beyond: Government Departmental Building left, Heritage Hotel middle, Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel right in S red zone. The bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Gloucester St view, workmen in crane box hoisted to Novotel, S red zone
Trekked past The Gloucester ghost, awaiting demolition in the N red zone. (The Gloucester demo site would become part of CERA's Blueprint Performing Arts precinct & would remain a vacant demo site for over a decade). Behind was Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel. CERA wanted to open red zone CBD in April, 7 months before. Red zone CBD would only open in 2013, after 28 months' occupation by CERA. Ghost high- rises like Forsyth Barr blocked reopening. It wasn't "dysfunctional Council" holding up CBD recovery, it was CERA.
16.11.12. Gloucester St view, Novotel & abandoned Camelot Hotel, S red zone left. N red zone right. Camelot Hotel would be demolished for Central Library / Turanga rebuild
16.11.12. Shipping containers. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel, N red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. The Gloucester, N red zone, Gloucester St. The Gloucester arcade would be demolished, first week Dec 2012 for CERA's Blueprint Performing Arts precinct
Post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, Council took 6 months to consult 1 000s of citizens about the Share an Idea scheme & came up with a CBD rebuild plan. CERA took the next 10 months to produce a 100 day Blueprint for the CBD, filching Council's green space ideas, City in a Garden & rejecting others, like expensive light rail. CERA taking 10 months to repeat what Council did in 6 months was wasteful duplication & inefficiency.
Dithering CERA now bullied commercial property owners in CERA's Blueprint E & S Frame to cheaply sell their land to the Crown. Not satisfied with taking 7 000+ residential red zone properties for the Crown, CERA now took Christchurch CBD land for the Crown. CERA's taking in the CBD was guarded by NZDF soldiers at red zone checkpoints, paid for by NZ taxpayers. To date, Christchurch citizens were banned from their CBD for nearly 2 years.
CERA didn't say who'd maintain & operate Blueprint loss makers like the Convention Centre / Te Pae & Stadium. CERA had few ideas about injecting life & affordable housing into & around CERA's new CBD.
Gloucester St / Colombo St crossing: Steel mesh fence cordoned, Camelot Hotel ghost in the CBD red zone. At Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint by Camelot Hotel, Colombo St, an orange, Hi-Vis vested soldier directed rubberneckers outside the steel mesh fence cordon & contractors entering the red zone. We'd endured soldiers & cops at CBD checkpoints since 22.02.11 Killer Quake, 21 months before. Christ Church Cathedral ghost loomed. When would CERA demolish asbestos riddled, Government Life ghost in Cathedral Sq?
16.11.12. Contractors' cars. Gloucester St view, abandoned Christ Church Cathedral, S red zone. Novotel left, abandoned Camelot Hotel right
16.11.12. DANGER. STOP. NO PUBLIC ACCESS. 30 km/h speed limit sign. Orange, plastic, road cones. Steel mesh fence cordon. Christ Church Cathedral NZDF checkpoint, S red zone, Colombo St / Gloucester St crossing. Abandoned Camelot Hotel left awaited demolition for Council's Central Library / Turanga rebuild
16.11.12. Christ Church Cathedral, NZDF checkpoint view, abandoned Camelot Hotel left, awaited demolition for Council's Central Library / Turanga rebuild, Novotel right, being restored, Cathedral Sq, S red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. NZDF checkpoint view, abandoned Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq, S red zone. Heritage Hotel, Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel beyond would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. NZDF checkpoint view, quake trashed / demolished tower & W facade, abandoned Christ Church Cathedral. Chalice middle, cop kiosk right, Cathedral Sq, would survive the quakes, but would be demolished, 2021
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. NZDF checkpoint view, NE Cathedral Sq, S red zone: Novotel left, being restored, Christ Church Cathedral north transept & Heritage Hotel right. The bldgs would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned Government Life, awaited demolition, Cathedral Sq, S red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. NZDF checkpoint hut, portaloo, Colombo St / Gloucester St, S red zone
16.11.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. NZDF checkpoint, Colombo St / Gloucester St, S red zone. Abandoned Camelot Hotel left, awaited demolition for Council's Central Library / Turanga rebuild. Abandoned Christ Church Cathedral beyond would survive the quakes
Opp Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel & Cathedral Sq, multi-storey, Farmers ghost carpark was chomped by 3 orange diggers. Concrete rubble, heaped behind steel mesh fence cordons. Heap of twisted, rusty rebars lay on quake junk.
Steel mesh fence cordon, threat sign:
DANGER
DEMOLITION
SITE
KEEP OUT
All ghosts in the vicinity, like Chancery Ln bldgs, Farmers, Central Library & Victoria Square apartments would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Some of Gloucester St would be taken for the Convention Centre stretching from Victoria Sq to Cathedral Sq. For a small city like Christchurch, NZ National govt's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae was a waste of taxpayers' money. Never mind Christchurch hotels' conference facilities & Christchurch halls where conventions could be held.
16.11.12. Orange, plastic, road cones. Steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St / Gloucester St crossing view, N red zone: Farmers carpark demolition left, abandoned Isaacs House middle, abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel right. Isaacs House & Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St / Gloucester St view, Farmers multi-storey, carpark demolition, N red zone. Victoria Square apartments awaited demolition behind. Both bldgs would be demolished for NZ National Govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
16.11.12.Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, Farmers demolition rubble, abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel, N red zone. Abandoned BNZ right awaited demolition
16.11.12. Gloucester St view, Farmers multi-storey, carpark demolition, N red zone. Craigs behind. Both bldgs would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. 2 orange diggers. Gloucester St view, Farmers multi-storey, carpark demolition, abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel right
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, Central Library awaited demolition. Farmers multi-storey, carpark rubble. Both bldgs would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
Gloucester St: Trekked past a part demolished ghost opp Farmers demolition site. The bldg was gutted. Through the bldg, I saw orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen chomping their lunches on Cathedral Sq. The bldg would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
16.11.12. Orange, plastic, fence cordon. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition gutted bldg, Gloucester St, S red zone. Government Life awaited demolition behind. The bldg would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Orange, plastic, fence cordon. Gloucester St NE view, Isaac Theatre Royal restoration left, N red zone. S red zone right
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, abandoned Government Life, awaited demolition, Cathedral Sq, S red zone
Chancery Ln: Arcade ghost shops decayed, broken windows & rubbish on the pavement behind a S red zone, steel mesh fence cordon. Weeds grew through paving stones in the arcade. Chancery Ln ghosts would be demolished in 2015, for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, quake trashed, Chancery Ln, Arcade shop, awaited demolition, S red zone, for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
Opp Chancery Ln, Central Library ghost awaited demolition, weeds on the roof. A heap of leaves lay by the boarded front door. USAR / TF graffiti besmirched wall & windows. Central Library would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. New Central Library / Turanga would be built, Gloucester St / Colombo St, on Camelot Hotel demo site next to Novotel.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, Farmers demolition rubble, Isaac Theatre Royal restoration, N red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Central Library awaited demolition, Gloucester St, N red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. USAR / TF graffiti, boarded Central Library door, Gloucester St, N red zone
16.11.12. USAR / TF graffiti, Central Library, Gloucester St / Oxford Tce, N red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St / Oxford Tce view, quake trashed, Provincial Council, N red zone
Gloucester St: Trekked past Brannigans demolition site to 2 steel mesh fence cordoned, Italian restaurants, Oxford Tce cnr. One Italian restaurant would be demolished. Years later Caffe Roma would be restored. DANGER KEEP OUT threat sign on S red zone, steel mesh fence cordon. An orange, Hi-Vis vested workman carried a concrete disc from Our City to his ute. For years, Our City ghost would await restoration, propped by concrete blocks & steel bracing. 2021. Our City restortion would begin.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake trashed, Italian restaurants. Left restaurant would be demolished. Caffe Roma right would be restored, Oxford Tce, S red zone
16.11.12. Quake trashed, Caffé Roma, awaited restoration, Oxford Tce, S red zone. Abandoned Rydges Hotel behind, awaited restoration
16.11.12. DANGER KEEP OUT. S red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, Oxford Tce. Our City behind would be restored in 2021
Oxford Tce: Trekked upriver along Avon River bank by a steel mesh fence cordon. Clarendon Tower was being demolished in the S red zone. Our City's restoration junk, stacked bricks, metal, a papered turret, in the Suffragette Memorial garden. Punters idled by Avon River bank: 3 blokes wore boaters, waistcoats, white shirts, longs. No tourist punters by Our City & Worcester St Bridge.
16.11.12. Oxford Tce red zone view, abandoned Rydges Hotel, awaited restoration. Clarendon Tower demolition, S red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon right. Avon River bank view, Gloucester St Bridge. Craigs House & Victoria Square apartments awaited demolition in N red zone for CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
16.11.12. Oxford Tce: Avon River bank view, Cambridge Tce
16.11.12. Oxford Tce: Steel mesh fence cordon. Avon River bank view, Our City restoration junk, S red zone. Our City would be restored, 2021
16.11.12. Oxford Tce: Avon River bank view, Our City restoration junk by Suffragettes Monument, Oxford Tce, S red zone. Our City would be restored, 2021
16.11.12. Oxford Tce: Steel mesh fence cordon. Avon River bank view. S red zone, Our City would be restored, 2021
16.11.12. Avon River punting. Worcester St Bridge, new Council bldg beyond
Gloucester St Bridge: A good view of Provincial Council ghost, covered in tarps, awaiting restoration. School kids wandered across the bridge to stare at red zone CBD ghosts behind the steel mesh fence cordon.
16.11.12. Gloucester St Bridge view, quake trashed Provincial Council bldg, awaited restoration, N red zone
16.11.12. Gloucester St Bridge upriver view, Our City restoration junk behind a steel mesh fence cordon left, new Council bldg middle. Our City would be restored, 2021
16.11.12. School kids crossing Gloucester St Bridge. Landsborough House (URS House) awaited demolition right. Awly Building, a multi-storey office block would be built on URS House & Amuri Courts demo sites
Gloucester St / Durham St Nth: Multi-storey, Landsborough House (URS House) ghost awaited demolition. It would be demolished a week later, within 48 hours. Awly Building, multi-storey office block would be built on URS House & Amuri Courts demo sites. Opp cnr, another demolition site, an Espresso trailer sold coffee to passersby, near an ad-festooned, faux pissoir.
16.11.12. Landsborough House (URS House) awaited demolition, Gloucester St / Durham St Nth. A week later, URS House would be demolished within 48 hours
16.11.12. Espresso coffee trailer, faux pissoir by demolition site, Cambridge Tce / Gloucester St
Cambridge Tce: Kea Coffee Co caravan sold food to passersby. Months before, I'd last seen the caravan on Theme Basics demolition site, Manchester St / St Asaph St.
16.11.12. Kea Coffee Co caravan, Cambridge Tce. By 2015 Kea Coffee Co caravan would move to closed Gloucester St Bridge
16.11.12. Cambridge Tce view, Avon River punting by Worcester St Bridge. CBD Red zone beyond
16.11.12. Worcester St Bridge view, Cambridge Tce & Central Police, Hereford St. Central Police would be imploded 30.05.15
Worcester St Bridge: Steel mesh fence cordoned. Info & threat signs on the fence: WELCOME TO CHRISTCHURCH, EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT, a Wizard poster, Save the Cathedral pics, CERA parking notices:
THIS AREA IS DESIGNATED
AS PARKING FOR
CERA EMERGENCY
RESPONSE VEHICLES ONLY
16.11.12. Signs, Worcester St Bridge, steel mesh fence cordon, S red zone
16.11.12. CERA vehicles obstructing Worcester St Bridge, S red zone. Our City & Rydges Hotel behind awaited restoration
Five CERA vehicles were parked on Worcester St Bridge, obstructing pedestrians. CERA boss Sutton scuttled up Worcester Blvd. Since when were CERA's unelected minions exempt from parking tickets by Council? There were enough Wilson carparks on demolition sites for CERA minions.
21.12.12. It took CERA weeks to accede they blocked public access to Worcester St Bridge & that the bridge was easiest access to punting, instead of Gloucester St Bridge further down river. Only on 21.12.12 was a bit of Worcester St Bridge opened for punters. If CERA continued to take that long to make simple decisions, CBD recovery would be doomed by CERA. They only had till 2016 (5 year tenure) to sort out recovery, with other NZ govt departments & expertise at CERA's disposal.
So far almost 2 years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, CERA's recovery was a demolition derby, rather than a coordinated, well planned & designed rebuild, for the people by the people. Recovery so far was overseen by top-down, dictatorial, minority, NZ National govt & recovery minister Brownlee. Why was CERA's General Manager, Economic Recovery leaving CERA? (CERA press release, Chief Executive update, 19 December 2012).
Cambridge Tce: Trekked upriver along Avon River bank & watched a digger demolishing Clarendon Tower, Oxford Tce, in the red zone.
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red crane. Cambridge Tce, Avon River bank view, Clarendon Tower demolition, Oxford Tce, S red zone
Oxford Tce, Restart Cashel Mall side: Looked at a Gap Filler, dance platform. ANZ bank was in a porta-cabin by Remembrance Arch. Besides Restart shipping container shops, since I'd last visited Restart, a shop had reopened & another was readied for reopening. Restart was buzzing with shoppers. Groups of school kids sang & made music for passersby.
Hereford St: Several ghosts in the S red zone cordon still had USAR / TF graffiti on walls & windows. Tete a Tete, old wooden Shands Emporium, wonky & wood braced, was ready for relocation, amidst demolition site carparks at Restart back entry.
2015. Shands Emporium would relocate to Manchester St next to Trinity Church / Octagon Restaurant ghost. At the same time CERA / CCDU wastefully demolished brand new, Westende House to widen Manchester St. Aug 2019. Mike Mayell, CookieTime owner, would propose converting Shands Emporium & Trinity Church / Octagon Restaurant into a Cannabis Museum. After a year odd, that crackpot idea would fizzle.
16.11.12. DANGER KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St Bridge view, Hereford St / Oxford Tce crossing. S red zone left
16.11.12. Closed NZDF checkpoint hut left. Red crane centre. Steel mesh fence cordon right. Oxford Tce view, Clarendon Tower demolition, S red zone
16.11.12. FOOTPATH CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. E view, Hereford St. S red zone left
16.11.12. USAR / TF graffiti, Hereford St abandoned bldg
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St, Tete a Tete, Shands Emporium awaited relocation to Manchester St. Restart Cashel Mall demolition site, carparks both sides
16.11.12. Demolition site carparks, Restart Cashel Mall back entry, Hereford St
Ibis Hotel, Hereford St, was recently opened, not much business going on. Opp Ibis Hotel, on a demolition site, a temporary astro turf football pitch was installed. Mural:
FOOTBALL FOREVER FOOTBALL CHCH FOREVER
IN THE GAP
In the southern red zone I saw Holiday Inn demolition again. There were other demolition sites, like Hanafins, or ghosts awaiting demolition, like IBM. BNZ ghost was part demolished due to asbestos hazard, then stayed abandoned for years, an eyesore. (Still abandoned in 2016, but would eventually be demolished. New, multi-storey, Spark office bldg would be built, 2019). BNZ wasn't the only ghost on Cathedral Sq. Christ Church Cathedral ghost would be scary for a decade... (2020. Still ruined, cordoned, slow reinstatement startup).
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post quake, reopened Ibis Hotel, Hereford St
16.11.12. Quake trashed, abandoned bldg, opp Ibis Hotel, Hereford St, S red zone
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. USAR / TF graffiti, quake trashed bldg, opp Ibis Hotel, Hereford St, S red zone
16.11.12. Temp, astro turf, football pitch, demolition site, opp Ibis Hotel, Hereford St
16.11.12. Orange, plastic bollard. Steel mesh fence cordon. S red zone bldg, awaited demolition, Hereford St / Colombo St. Holiday Inn demolition right
16.11.12. Hereford St view, Holiday Inn demolition, S red zone
16.11.12. Orange / white, plastic bollards, steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St, demolition site, football pitch. Colombo St bldg awaited demolition in S red zone beyond
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Orange / white, plastic bollard cordon. Hereford St, demolition site, football pitch view, S red zone, Hereford St / Colombo St / High St crossing. IBM awaited demolition left. BNZ part demolition in progress right. BNZ stayed part demolished for years. It would be demolished for Spark offices, built 2019. Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel awaited restoration behind
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Orange / white, plastic bollard cordon. BNZ part demolition site mid left, Hanafins demolition site middle, Hereford St / Colombo St / High St crossing, S red zone. Flour Power sculpture by trees right would survive the quakes
16.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Flour Power sculpture would survive the quakes, Colombo St / High St / Hereford St, S red zone
Cashel Mall: Trekked past Restart Cashel Mall shops to The Crossing, then trekked Colombo St, in a shipping container tunnel, past repairs to closed National Bank (merged with ANZ Bank) to Lichfield St crossing.
Returned to my car, my Samsung camera battery expired. Next day, 17.11.12, returned with Leah to the CBD to rubberneck Charles & Camilla Royal Visit.
Colombo St: In a demolition site, Wilson carpark, near the temporary Bus Exchange, I spotted a new gift shop in a porta-cabin. Also found porta-cabin, public toilets by Tuam Library.
17.11.12. Porta-cabin gift shop, demolition site carpark, temporary Bus Exchange, Colombo St / Tuam St
Near Mollett St, where 16 people died in the 22.02.11 Killer Quake, crushed by masonry fallen from old, brick bldgs: Beggs Music shop wall, Kirsty Dunn's poem:
Amidst the shards of glass
& twisted steel
Beside the fallen brick
& scattered concrete
we begin to understand
that there is beauty in the
broken
Strangers do not live here
anymore.
Beggs Music relocated to South City mall.
17.11.12. Kirsty Dunn's poem, Beggs Music shop mural, Colombo St / Mollett St junction
Colombo St / St Asaph St: Tradestaff mural of bldgs, workers & greenery.
17.11.12. Demolition site & Tradestaff mural, Colombo St / St Asaph St
Colombo St / Tuam St: I HOPE CHRISTCHURCH WILL... blackboard mural. A good view of Holiday Inn demolition in the S red zone.
17.11.12. Blackboard mural on demolition site, Colombo St / Tuam St
17.11.12. NO ENTRY. Wilson demolition site, carpark view, Holiday Inn demolition, Colombo St / Tuam St. Old Council bldg in S red zone right, awaited demolition for the new Bus Interchange
Tuam St: CERA's S red zone, CBD cordon one side, CERA Blueprint S Frame the other side, perfectly good bldgs wanted to be taken by CCDU for its Blueprint S Frame.
Tuam St / Manchester St crossing: Odeon Theatre facade, propped by stacked shipping containers, rest of the old, brick theatre demolished. We trekked past demolition sites on S red zone Manchester St, another good view of Holiday Inn demolition. Post quakes, on one Manchester St cnr, EPIC Innovation, black & blue shed was built. Ugly building.
17.11.12. ROAD CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Tuam St crossing view, Holiday Inn demolition, S red zone
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition site & post quake EPIC Innovation shed, Tuam St / Manchester St
CCDU boss Isaacs announced revamping of CBD roads, lots of cycleways & walkways. St Asaph St & Tuam St would be one-ways with widening of Manchester St & Tuam St. Kilmore St & Salisbury St would be two-ways, as traffic was less. A 30km/h speed limit would be imposed in the CBD. (Post quakes, that CCDU road plan would not be strictly followed, resulting in CBD roading cock-ups, like widened pavements & cycle lanes obstructing parking & lane widths.)
Colombo St / Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint: "I bet Prince Charles & Camilla are in the red zone," I said. "Instead of the usual 2 checkpoint soldiers, there are 3 soldiers". A senior cop drove out of the red zone & chatted to a checkpoint soldier. We awaited royalty.
17.11.12. STOP. Steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St / Gloucester St crossing view, NZDF checkpoint by abandoned Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq, S red zone
Gloucester St: 4 motorbike, royal escort cops arrived, blocking Gloucester St traffic, then goons in flash cars whizzed out of the red zone. We didn't see Charles & Camilla then, but a soldier told us they were in the high van with dark windows which just passed. Charles & Camilla were given a special tour of the CBD, but citizens who'd endured quakes were banned, doffing their caps at the blue-light brigade. Charles & Camilla would be crowned king & queen, May 2023.
17.11.12. Orange, plastic, road cones. Steel mesh fence cordon. Police escort, Charles & Camilla royal visit, Colombo St / Gloucester St crossing, by Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint, S red zone
Cashel Mall: At Restart Cashel Mall we looked at the Oxford Tce dance platform, where dancers practised next to Rekindle's reclaimed wood furniture exhibit. Later Charles & Camilla danced with locals there. Rekindle poster:
Rekindle's mission is
to support communities
to utilize their wood
waste fully and in doing
so, maximize the benefit
of the purposeful work
involved.
17.11.12. Oxford Tce dance platform, Restart Cashel Mall. Charles & Camilla danced with locals there
Joined the 4 000 odd crowd, thickening near The Crossing gate into the red zone. Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolished multi-storey, Holiday Inn ghost in the red zone, while we awaited royalty.
17.11.12. Hereford St, demolition site, carpark, back entry to Restart shipping container shops, Cashel Mall
17.11.12. Post quake Restart shipping container shops, Restart Cashel Mall
17.11.12. Crowd awaiting Charles & Camilla royal visit, Restart Cashel Mall. Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn beyond, S red zone
17.11.12. Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn, Cashel Mall, S red zone
17.11.12. Crowd by Ballantynes awaiting arrival of Charles & Camilla, Restart Cashel Mall
17.11.12. Cashel Mall crowd by The Crossing, S red zone, awaiting arrival of Charles & Camilla. Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn beyond
17.11.12. Cashel Mall view, Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn, S red zone
17.11.12. Crowd on Restart Cashel Mall by The Crossing awaiting arrival of Charles & Camilla. Twinkle Toe, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn beyond
17.11.12. CERA minister Brownlee mingling, while awaiting arrival of Charles & Camilla at The Crossing, Cashel Mall / Colombo St, S red zone
17.11.12. Cashel Mall crowd by The Crossing awaiting arrival of Charles & Camilla. Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn beyond
CERA minister Brownlee mingled. Cashel Mall crawled with uniformed & non uniformed cops. When Charles & Camilla entered Restart through The Crossing gate, Leah was the first to shake Camilla's hand. Led by a goon & Brownlee, the hand-shaking maul walked Cashel Mall towards Remembrance Arch.
17.11.12. Cops, Cashel Mall crowd awaiting arrival of Charles & Camilla from the S red zone
17.11.12. CERA minister Gerry Brownlee & goon leading royal party, Cashel Mall
17.11.12. Back to cam, Camilla mingling & hand-shaking, Restart Cashel Mall
17.11.12. Charles mingling & hand-shaking, Restart Cashel Mall
17.11.12. PM Key mingling & hand-shaking, Restart Cashel Mall
17.11.12. CERA boss Sutton mingling, Restart Cashel Mall
17.11.12. PM Key mingling, Restart Cashel Mall
Stood on a bench, taking back-shots of Camilla & a couple of close-ups of Charles hand-shaking. Brownlee, few paid attention to him, led down Cashel Mall, cops & goons, curly wires sticking out their ears stayed close to the royals. CERA boss Sutton scuttled by. Smiling PM Key followed.
"I like your tie," said Leah to PM Key. A nice blue tie. Leah wore blue too. That broadened Key's smile, his goon grinned too.
17.11.12. "I like your tie." PM Key mingling, Restart Cashel Mall
Nice for royals to mingle with peasants, while Twinkle Toes smashed Holiday Inn to smithereens. Faux pissoir poster with a Charles pic:
Hey Charlie,
feel like joining
us in singing
our national
anthem today?
[Charles pic]
17.11.12. Cashel Mall, The Crossing view, Twinkle Toes, giant digger demolishing Holiday Inn, S red zone
Tuam St: Returning to our car, we saw the blue light brigade leaving the red zone cordon via Colombo St & Lichfield St, by the ghost Bus Exchange.
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Royal escort cops leaving the S red zone, Colombo St / Lichfield St crossing
21 months post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, occupying CERA would reopen Victoria Sq for peasants to visit. Parked on Chester St West. We trekked past Pallet Pavilion on Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site. Brick paving at the back end of Victoria Sq was quake-buckled near the floral clock, no flowers yet, just dirt. Steel mesh fence cordon posters:
OPENING
SOON!
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE
WWW.GAPFILLER.ORG.NZ
SIGN UP HERE!!!
VOLUNTEER
TO HELP BUILD THE
GAP
FILLER
SUMMER PALLET PAVILION
Kilmore St / Durham St Nth: Pallet Pavilion was a Gap Filler initiative, constructed & deconstructed by volunteers, which would last more than a year, December 2012 - April 2014. Social activities would be held at Pallet Pavilion on Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site. The only new "construction" on our trek, piles of blue CHEP pallets. So much for CERA recovery.
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Pallet Pavilion, Crowne Plaza Hotel, demolition site, Kilmore St / Durham St Nth
Victoria Sq: Trekked across a little asphalt causeway, steel mesh fence cordon either side. Victoria Bridge survived the quakes. A red zone, steel mesh fence cordon by Town Hall ghost, back entrance, EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT threat. Dandelion Fountain by Avon River wasn't working, weeds grew below. Brick stairs to Town Hall door, buckled. Town Hall had boarded windows. Awaiting restoration.
17.11.12. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. N red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, by quake trashed, Christchurch Town Hall, Victoria Sq
17.11.12. Quake survivor, Victoria Bridge, Victoria Sq
17.11.12. Victoria Sq: Quake trashed, Christchurch Town Hall, Dandelion Fountain, not working, by Avon River. Awaiting restoration
17.11.12. Victoria Sq: Quake trashed, Dandelion Fountain, quake buckled steps going to quake trashed, Christchurch Town Hall. Awaiting restoration
Victoria Sq / Colombo St: We trekked past a steel mesh fence cordon, past demolition sites, to Colombo St / Armagh St crossing. Winnie Bagoes, gone, heap of twisted, rusting rebars on the demolition site.
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordons, one covered with red plastic. Victoria Sq view, twisted, rusting, rebar heap on Winnie Bagoes demolition site, Colombo St / Armagh St, N red zone. Abandoned BNZ right, awaited demolition
17.11.12. Victoria Sq view, abandoned Forsyth Barr left & abandoned National Bank (merged with ANZ) / Isaac House, Colombo St / Armagh St, N red zone. Both bldgs would survive the quakes
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Victoria Sq view, Colombo St demolition truck by Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Victoria Sq view, Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel, Colombo St / Armagh St, N red zone
Colombo St / Armagh St: Abandoned Forsyth Barr loomed over Victoria Sq & Queen Victoria, Boer War statue, remembering Cantabrians killed by Boers & mostly by enteric fever. Victoria wasn't amused at CERA's slow demolitions & Forsyth Barr spoiling her view. After restoration, Forsyth Barr would become Crowne Plaza Hotel.
17.11.12. Queen Victoria Boer War Statue, Victoria Sq. Forsyth Barr / Crown Plaza Hotel beyond
Victoria Sq: CERA's red zone, steel mesh fence cordon around Victoria Sq, cordoned Christchurch citizens away from CERA occupied CBD. Legacy of queen Victoria's empire troops who'd cordoned 1 000s of Boer War women, children, POWs, blacks in concentration camps in SA & elsewhere in her empire, like Ceylon, St Helena, Bermuda...
17.11.12. Queen Victoria Boer War Statue, Victoria Sq
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition trucks, Armagh St by Victoria Sq, N red zone
Demolition trucks were parked behind steel mesh fence cordons on Colombo St & Armagh St. People wandered Victoria Sq, glad to see greenery instead of drab demolition dust. Victorians had shown the way with green spaces: Victoria Sq, Latimer Sq, Cranmer Sq, Hagley Park, Botanic Gdns.
An old woman stood before ghost Victoria Square flats, talking to her family. It was the first time she'd seen her ghost flat since Feb 22 Killer Quake. Victoria Square ghost flats & next door Craigs House ghost would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned Victoria Square flats, abandoned Craigs House, Armagh St, by Victoria Sq, N red zone. The bldgs would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
Armagh St Bridge: We returned to our car via Armagh St Bridge, opened for the royal visit. Pity citizens had to wait so long for CERA & Council to wake up.
17.11.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Armagh St Bridge view, Craigs House, Victoria Square flats & Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel by Victoria Sq. Craigs House & Victoria Square flats would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
Durham St Nth: Crossed Durham St Methodist Church, demolition site, where 3 people died in Feb 22 Killer Quake. Street art hung on a wall, remembered the dead. Circular art-work:
6.3 MAG * 22.02.11 * 12.51 PM * R.I.P. 185 *
Durham St Nth / Chester St West: Steel mesh fence cordon. Radio New Zealand was being demolished.
17.11.12. Street art by Methodist Church demolition site, Durham St Nth
17.11.12. Radio New Zealand demolition, Chester St West / Durham St Nth
*Trekked Tuam St, High St, Madras St, Hereford St, Worcester St, Manchester St, Gloucester St, Oxford Tce, Cambridge Tce, Worcester St Bridge, Colombo St, Restart Cashel Mall, Lichfield St, Kilmore St, Victoria Sq, Durham St Nth. 435 images.
All we saw in the red zone CBD, steel mesh fence cordon were ghosts, abandoned since 22.02.11 Killer Quake, NZDF checkpoints & hundreds of dusty, demolition sites on trashed swampland. CBD red zone, demolition zone, lifeless, no commerce.
NZ National govt reined in mayor Parker's crackpot schemes, like light rail; Council wanting to own trashed Christ Church Cathedral; relocating Canterbury University campus back to the CBD to return youth to demolished CBD; all councillors voting in favour of saving trashed Town Hall, without ascertaining ground conditions via Tonkin & Taylor land reports. (Latter decision would be reversed by the next elected Council. Town Hall would be repaired).
No one reined in NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint for demolished CBD: roofed Stadium, Convention Centre / Te Pae, Metro Sports Facility, E Frame, S Frame... Labour was useless: squabbles between leader David Shearer & wannabe leader, David Cunliffe. Only Labour MP with gumption was Dalziel, speaking up for trashed E suburbs.
NZ National govt's / CCDU's E & S Frames, bordering CERA's shrunken CBD, were a means to take land from CBD property owners. While NZ National govt tried selling national assets, NZ National govt tried taking property assets from Christchurch citizens, for govt schemes paid for by ratepayers & taxpayers. CERA's rationale: land was needed for Blueprint precincts & shrinking of the CBD by means of parkland, maintaining core CBD property values.
The E & S Frame idea, according to CCDU boss Issacs, was that the Frame would maintain value of CERA reduced CBD land. Codswallop, as there was lots of viable CBD land / businesses outside CCDU's core CBD, extending to the 4 Avenues & beyond. CCDU just manipulated citizens' desires for a City in a Garden.
NZ National govt hadn't even said what it would do with 7 000+ red zone, residential properties it had taken in trashed suburbs.
EQC still dithered with TC3 land-drilling & slow repairs. Mainland Press, EQC announcement 29.11.12:
"When will claims be settled?
Our promise is that worst damaged homes will be repaired by the end of 2013. All other homes will be repaired by the end of 2015.
All claims for land damage will be settled by the end of 2014 at the latest."
So EQC expected some owners of badly damaged homes to slum it for nearly 3 years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake & owners of less damaged homes to slum it longer, up to 5 years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake. EQC boss Simpson was recently given a $70 000 raise for running EQC!
Never mind squabbles with insurers, Ministry of Education proposed changes to Christchurch schools, slow road & bridge repairs by SCIRT, power struggles over taxpayers' & ratepayers' dollars by Council & CERA.
Coda:
Mar 2016, five years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake. CERA reached its expiry date, to be replaced by Regenerate Christchurch, another NZ National govt agency. CERA's Blueprint rebuild was slow in Christchurch CBD. Margaret Mahy Family Playground was in the E Frame. The Convention Centre demolition site was steel mesh fence cordoned, no Convention Centre rebuild, yet. (2018-21. Belated building of Convention Centre / Te Pae). Christ Church Cathedral ghost still cordoned. Cardboard Cathedral functioned by Latimer Sq. Christchurch Basilica ghost, Barbadoes St, future unknown. (Christchurch Basilica ghost would be demolished, 2021.)
Victoria Sq, surrounded by demolition sites. Victoria Bridge & upriver Gloucester St Bridge, being restored by SCIRT. Town Hall, being restored, Dandelion Fountain gone for repairs. Other roads & bridges, being repaired by SCIRT. Christchurch roads generally: bumpy, patched mess.
Between Lichfield St & Tuam St: The new Bus Interchange operated. Further W between those streets, Justice & Emergency Services precinct being built. Some of New Regent St, Cathedral Junction & some Cathedral Sq hotels did business. New office blocks, shops, restaurants, pubs, going up by Cashel Mall, like The Terraces, BNZ Centre, ANZ Centre. New office blocks, already built on Cambridge Tce, Durham St Nth, Victoria St & High St. Provincial Council ghost Gloucester St / Durham St Nth awaited restoration. Christchurch Arts Centre, Worcester Blvd, being restored.
CERA left many dusty, demolition sites in its core CBD, some grass patches in its E Frame. CERA took many private business sites in its core CBD for its Blueprint anchor projects. Many CBD businesses relocated to the suburbs away from CERA's CBD stranglehold.
Most of the 7 000+ residential red zone houses were demolished by CERA. Insurers & EQC still bumbled about house claims: 5 500 repairs had to be redone due to Fletcher's shoddy repairs. 4 500 house insurance repair / rebuild claims were still unresolved due to EQC's slow overcap $100 000 decisions. NZ National govt did nothing about EQC's & insurers' deny, delay, defend mess. The Press 08.03.16 reported EQC's 2010-11 claims inspections of drains (sewage & storm water pipes) were shoddy, 2 500 drain claims needed review. Calls by the public & opposition MPs like Megan Woods for an Inquiry into EQC's ineptness. 2019. Done by Dame Silvia Cartwright.
12.08.19. Poplar St / Lichfield St: Post quake developments: 2 bldgs which survived quakes, became Dux Central, a bar / eatery. E behind Dux Central, Lichfield St, a multi-storey carpark was built. Poplar St / Ash St: New Vanguard Sq & multi-storey Vodafone along Tuam St.
Poplar St still had its prequakes tramline embedded in the street. Rental site where Jake had pre-quakes flatted, still a dirty demo site, backed by Smash Palace, owned by ex mayor's son, Johnny Moore. He'd relocated Smash Palace during quakes from its Bealey Ave / Victoria St temp site, to an old, brick bldg, High St. On the demo site behind Smash Palace, a steel mesh fence cordon surrounded a bit of demo site, 2 yellow, threat signs on the cordon fence warned about asbestos danger. A CERA demo contractor had buried asbestos rubble there!
Tuam St: Quake survivor, Fashion School (Ara Tech) continued business as it had done through quake times. Across High St, Duncan's, old, brick, 2 storey ghost, abandoned for years, being restored. High St / St Asaph St: End ghosts: Where a High St, 2 storey, old, brick ghost burned during quake times, the demo site was used to store builders' materials. Across a lane, new, multi-storey, Billens 2017, stood proud next to McKenzie Willis restored facade, High St / Tuam St. Four new bldgs behind the restored facade formed multi-storey, shops, offices, eateries, lanes amongst the bldgs. A public square was bordered by the McKenzie Willis development & Epic Innovation bldg, Manchester St side. Revamped area would be called Salt District.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See EQC Chief Executive Ian Simpson gets $70 000 pay rise (The Press / Stuff Co).
See CERA Chief Executive update, 19 December 2012 (CERA media releases).
See Christchurch then and now (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Regenerate Christchurch agency confirmed 25 September 2015 (CERA).
