Grand Chancellor demolition could take a year
Plans to bring down the badly-damaged Grand Chancellor building in Christchurch's city centre were announced today.
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Plans to bring down the badly-damaged Grand Chancellor building in Christchurch's city centre were announced today.
The 26-storey building has been on a noticeable lean since it suffered structural damage in the February 22 earthquake, but progress on plans for its demolition has been slow because of fears for neighbouring buildings.
Speaking from the middle of the city's red zone today, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said demolition would begin in the next few weeks.
"It's very important to get these big demolition jobs going because the sooner these buildings are down the faster we can move to reopen areas and get on with rebuilding," he said.
"As the hotel comes down in height it will mean that safer access will gradually be possible to nearby buildings and streets."
Mr Brownlee said the demolition would be managed by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, and could take up to a year to complete.
"I'm aware this is a long and slow process, but it needs to be managed very carefully to ensure the safety of the workers involved and reduce risk to neighbouring buildings."
Further work reinforcing the interior of the hotel would be done before it was destroyed to allow the hotel's guests to recovery property left behind on the day of the quake.
"We've been fortunate that some extraordinarily skilled work done just after the earthquake allowed the hotel to be stabilised and prevented its immediate collapse," Mr Brownlee said.
"That meant we could explore the best way to bring the building down with the least impact on the surrounding area."
NZPA and NBR staff
Wed, 25 May 2011
Wed, 25 May 2011
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Grand Chancellor demolition could take a year
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