Tradesmen were assessing Dunedin's historic courthouse yesterday as the Ministry of Justice finalises plans for seismic strengthening and other refurbishments of the building.
Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams announced in December the Stuart St complex would be strengthened and all services returned there after a $15 million overhaul.
A ministry spokesman said tradesmen were inspecting the building's stonework yesterday.
General manager of commercial and property Fraser Gibbs said various tradesmen, designers and other workers wouldvisit the city to carry out investigations during the next two months.
‘‘Strengthening and restoring heritage buildings is incredibly complex, so it's important we do a thorough job during final stages of planning before we start work on the courthouse,'' Mr Gibbs said.
The project included earthquake strengthening, restoration and equipping the building to support modern court facilities, he said.
The building would be strengthened to 60%-70% of the national building standard.
‘‘We expect to commence the tender process in late April or May, and we are hoping to start the strengthening work on the building in October 2016.
‘‘This is expected to take about 18 months.''
The public and those in the legal profession would be updated on developments before the building's reopening, Mr Gibbs said.
