St Clair site still vacant 10 years on

There are no immediate development plans for the only vacant commercial section in the Esplanade block at St Clair - after almost 10 years of remaining derelict.

Restaurateur Murray Macarthy, who owns a chain of 12 Thai restaurants, bought the rundown St Clair dairy, sandwiched between the Metropole and Hydro buildings, in early 2001 and later demolished it but, despite many plans to build, nothing eventuated.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Macarthy said there was "nothing on the drawing board" and there were no plans to develop the site at present. He had been busy opening Thai restaurants, dealing with one closed after the Christchurch earthquake, and launching a range of Thai sauces during the past year.

Mr Macarthy has 11 restaurants in the South Island and one in Wellington, with a second planned for this year.

"I really need to get my marketing cap on and go and do some door knocking." he said of developing the Esplanade section.

The most detailed plan was unveiled in September 2006, when Mr Macarthy announced a $2 million three-storey development of a cafe, restaurant and offices with each floor around 300sq m. But expectations construction would start in early 2007 were never realised.

He said yesterday the St Clair site remained on his "wish list", but a high-profile "branded" tenant had to be found to commit to the ground-floor space, with a Thai restaurant above, before he could begin construction. A tenant for the top floor could be found later, he said. He was not considering selling the St Clair site, he said.