An Easter resurrection is planned for the former Dunedin
North post office.
The 135-year-old building is being developed into an
interactive Dunedin heritage centre, which will be run by the
Otago Museum and New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
The $1.5 million redevelopment includes new exhibition and
venue-hire space, a foyer, courtyard and toilets.
A new roof, thermal insulation, pipe work and wiring systems
were also being installed, Otago Museum marketing and
development co-ordinator Juliet Pierce said this week. The
building has a category 2 heritage status and has been leased
by the Dunedin City Council to the museum for 33 years.
The renovation was an ''exciting and challenging
redevelopment'', Naylor Love project manager Peter MacNab
said. ''There is no doubt that the completed project will
breathe a new lease of life into one of Dunedin's iconic
buildings.''
The work was expected to be completed by Easter, he said.
The building was destined for demolition in 1968 and was only
saved by a campaign led by the then Otago Art Society
president, the late Shona McFarlane.
The society moved into the building in 1972 and used it for
the next 33 years, until it relocated to the Dunedin Railway
Station in 2007.
The Otago Museum and New Zealand Historic Places Trust plan
to open the renovated building with a collaborative
exhibition titled: Heritage Lost and Found: Our Changing
Cityscape.
- nigel.benson@odt.co.nz
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