In the central building (building two) the focus has been on completing the external refurbishment, strengthening the structure and installing water sprinklers; which have also been installed  throughout the other buildings and canopy.

The fireplace inside building two has been removed as it was structurally unsound.

Mr de Luca says an internal wall will also be removed to make way for a more open plan layout.

“Contractors are currently rebuilding a revised internal structure of the chimney with the external appearance matching and utilising the historic brickwork,” he says.

“Council’s intention is to utilise building two as a cafe/bar/restaurant, providing income to offset the ongoing building maintenance.”

The commercial space will be rented to a specialist business owner/operator. The new layout of building two, along with the layout that will connect building one to the i-SITE, have both been approved by the NZ Historic Places Trust.