History gone as hotel razed

The old boy has finally come down - the Albert Hotel's aged facade disappeared bit by bit during the past few weeks.

The Hastings landmark, vacant for the past four years, had been slowly decaying after being deemed dangerous by the council in 2009.

The current owner, Michael Whittaker, bought the property in November, 2012, and in July, 2013, North Peak Properties was granted council approval to demolish the building.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said he had stepped inside the building only once but added there was some discussion about trying to save the old building.

"We asked a lot of people if they were able to redevelop it."

He said old hotels in the southern Wairarapa towns of Martinborough, Greytown, Featherston and Carterton were an inspiration of how a more than 100-year-old building could be saved and reinvented as a restaurant and pub.

"It was just too far gone," Mr Yule said of the Albert Hotel. "Nobody could could make it work."

He said what Mr Whittaker planned for the site is an "innovative way of filling the space".

The site is expected to be cleared by the middle of next month. Once it is cleared, a two-level container development will be built on the site with up to 16 spaces for lease, modelled on Christchurch's successful Re:START container mall.

The Albert Hotel, built in 1882 by William Dennett, an Australian immigrant who became mayor of Hastings, was the city's oldest central building.

The two-storey wooden structure withstood the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and was given category two protection by Heritage New Zealand because of its cultural and aesthetic value.

It is understood the oldest building in Hastings city now is St Matthew's church, built originally in 1886