Heritage aspect key to new Napier Farmers store

The planned Farmers store development in Napier has been placed in the design hands of Paris Magdalinos Architects with Farmers management insisting its "heritage aspects" be considered.
That was music to the ears of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and the Art Deco Trust - both groups having been involved in a series of meetings with Farmers management over past weeks.
On Monday Farmers lodged a resource consent application to begin construction on the site which takes in the former Odeon Theatre, Callinicos building and the AMP building between Hastings St and the Marine Parade.
The development will be a large two-level department store linked by escalators.
The company's chief financial officer Michael Power said they were conscious of the city's Art Deco heritage.
"We acknowledge the significance to the community of the city's unique design and have briefed the architect to consider this in the development."
Art Deco Trust general manager Sally Jackson said while the Hastings St frontage would be preserved and the development sympathetic to the existing streetscape, there had been concerns over the Marine Parade side.
However, a series of meetings with Farmers, where recommendations had been put forward by the trust and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, had eased those concerns.
Mrs Jackson said improvements had been made to initial ideas and plans for the Marine Parade side - including incorporating windows, different uses of materials and a possible site for a future entranceway from the Parade.
The final proposal for the site was a major improvement on the early concepts and was not the "big box" development the trust feared it may be.
She said the investment Farmers was making to restore and preserve the heritage of the site was "critically" important to the city.
New Zealand Historic Places Hawke's Bay chairman Denis Pilkington said from his perspective it was pleasing and positive that the Hastings St Art Deco facades were being retained.
There was no immediate time-line for work to begin or for a completion date at this stage.
"As there is a process that needs to be completed by the council in relation to the resource consent application it is not possible at this stage to provide a timeline on when work will commence or when the store will open," Mr Power said.
"This is an exciting new development for Napier and for Farmers and we would like to commence work on this project as soon as possible."