Four new tenants have recently moved into the premises at 71 Frederick St - a site which used to be known more for its outlandish student-focused drinking promotions.
The former owners of the tavern, popularly known as "the Bowler", moved on about three years ago and the university bought the pub to convert into academic offices.
However, the $1.66 million redevelopment of the premises was delayed by building consent issues and a requirement to seek additional funding, before construction work started last year.
The University of Otago Bulletin newsletter reported how four new tenants were "uniformly impressed with the building's radically altered interior", but made no mention of the site's former history.
A headline pun alluded to the how the Bioethics Centre and the Dental Epidemiology and Public Health Group "bowl"(ed) into the building two weeks ago, while the Pacific Island Research and Student Support Unit and the Maori Health Work Force Development Unit started their shift last week.
University property services project manager Christian German said accommodation for the groups included offices, meeting rooms and seminar spaces designed to fit each team's needs.
Pacific Island research co-ordinator Malia Lameta said the move to the redeveloped building was good for both ethnic-oriented units, given they would now have dedicated spaces reflecting the specific needs of Pacific Islanders and Maori.
Bioethics Centre director Prof Gareth Jones said the new site was more accessible than its former headquarters on the eighth floor of the university.
"Now, we are in more of a university location, with our own identity," he said.
An existing VideoEzy tenancy will continue to occupy ground and some first-floor accommodation at the premises.
Former student watering hole the Gardens Tavern, best known as the Gardies, is the next pub in line to be redeveloped by the university, which is spending $3.3 million to convert the Castle St property into the Marsh Centre study space.
