Gordon Wilson Flats
| Gordon Wilson Flats | |
|---|---|
The flats in 2015
|
|
| General information | |
| Address | 320 The Terrace |
| Town or city | Wellington |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 41°17′28″S 174°46′13″E / 41.29109°S 174.77040°E |
| Named for | Gordon Wilson |
| Completed | 1959 |
| Closed | 2012 |
| Owner | Victoria University of Wellington |
Gordon Wilson Flats is a residential building in central Wellington, completed in 1959. The building was owned by Housing New Zealand and housed 131 people. It is currently owned by Victoria University of Wellington, and is unoccupied pending a decision on its future.
The Terrace Flats was renamed in honour of government architect Gordon Wilson who died in its final year of construction.
The foundation stone for the building was laid on the 6 August 1957, with completion in 1959, and housed around 130 people.
An engineering firm first reported concerns about the building in April 2010. A later assessment determined that a large person falling on a balcony could cause masonry façades to fall off the building. Housing New Zealand was more concerned about strong wind or an earthquake event, however, and decided to relocate tenants to avoid any problems. "The building is corroding, so it's a progressive deterioration," HNZ assets development general manager Sean Bignell said.
Tenants had to leave the flats in May 2012, after Housing New Zealand has serious doubts about the building's structural integrity and safety. Tenants were only given seven days notice to leave, a move which was criticised by some MPs, who pointed out the lack of other options for ex-tenants, especially at such short notice. Some tenants said they found the process very stressful, particularly given many of the residents had health problems or were refugees who didn't speak English well.
At the time Housing New Zealand moved tenants out of the building, the organisation said it was determining what to do with the building, and said no decisions had yet been made about its future. Their regional tenancy manager said at the time: "Wellington has a high demand for housing. Our preference is to upgrade the building".
In January 2014, Wellington MP Grant Robertson sought assurances that it would remain as social housing, and said he was worried it would be sold off rather than redeveloped. Housing advocates also pointed out that there was a shortage of social housing in Wellington, especially given the temporary closure of a number of housing complexes for earthquake strengthening.
In February 2014, Radio New Zealand reported that Housing New Zealand was in negotiations to sell the flats to Victoria University of Wellington. Neither party to the negotiations would comment. Wellington MP Grant Robertson said he was worried social housing was being driven out of the central city.
In September 2014, it was announced that Victoria University of Wellington would purchase the building. The university bought the building because of its proximity to its Kelburn campus, and the potential for it to provide a link between the Terrace and Wai-te-ata Road. The Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University, Grant Guilford, said that the university was in the process of making a decision about whether to demolish the building in consultation with the community. He commented that:
...
Wikipedia