A central Dunedin building has been earmarked for demolition by the University of Otago to make way for more carparks. The Dunedin City Council granted resource consent to the University of Otago to demolish the Zoology Annex building in Great King St, for a proposed carpark expansion. The L-shaped annex, nestled between the Marples Building, which houses the Department of Zoology, and the Dental School’s Walsh Building, was built in 1948 and has had several different uses. A report states demolish of the annex is proposed to facilitate redevelopment of the site into an expanded parking area. “The existing carpark, located to the front of the Zoology Annex, will be reconfigured and extended to incorporate the footprint of the demolished building. “The proposed carpark will provide a total of 32 parking spaces, comprising a mix of parallel and 90° parks, including two mobility spaces.” The 90° spots along the road frontage would be removed and replaced with a pocket park, which would retain an existing tree, the report said. A University of Otago spokesperson said the Zoology Annex had reached the end of its asset life. “The building is no longer fit for purpose and has reached the end of its useful life, making further maintenance, operation and upgrade investments cost prohibitive. “As part of our ongoing campus planning and space optimisation work under the Pae Tata Strategic Plan, the building will be demolished.” “The scale of investment required to address ongoing maintenance issues and necessary upgrades is cost prohibitive, and consequently further investment in the asset is not considered prudent.” tim.scott@odt.co.nz
