Contractors work on the four-storey car parking building behind the former chief post office in Dunedin yesterday.
Building owner Geoff Thomson, of Distinction Hotels, said Naylor Love Construction began work on the building on Monday.
He expected the build to take about 23 weeks.
The building would look ''exactly the same'' as the design released last year (below).
''It has the vertical grilling, the scrolling and the panels ... it is looking pretty sharp.''
Dunedin City Council business development adviser Margo Reid said the building would provide parking for hotel guests, leased parking for building tenants and to the public.
The council had provided 32 leased car parks in the Dowling St car park to assist Mr Thomson with the build.
The arrangement was an example of Dunedin's ''red carpet approach'' to helping developers establishing new businesses and initiatives in the city, Ms Reid said.
