An artist's impression of a revamped Dalton House, right, and Vautier House, left, in Napier. Photo / Wallace Development
An artist's impression of a revamped Dalton House, right, and Vautier House, left, in Napier. Photo / Wallace Development
Well-known buildings on the edge of Napier’s CBD have been sold ahead of a major redevelopment, with new tenant Te Whatu Ora set to move offices in.
It’s a move it says could allow an expansion of healthcare services in Napier, without the need to expand the nearby Napier MedicalCentre building on Wellesley Rd.
Plans have been revealed to Hawke’s Bay Today that will see the six-storey Dalton House and connecting five-storey Vautier House turned into modern office spaces.
The two were recently purchased by Wallace Development for an undisclosed amount.
Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay (formerly the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board) will be a tenant and will use a large area of the premises for office space.
Dalton House and Vautier House have been sold and will receive a revamp under new ownership. Photo / Colliers
Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay hospital and specialist services interim lead Paula Jones said they were expecting the interior fit-out to be completed by next year.
Te Whatu Ora will shift over offices and services into the premises from the likes of Napier Medical Centre and Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
However, that space will be used for offices as opposed to a new treatment or medical centre, and will be known as the ‘Napier community health hub’.
“Freeing up space in buildings meant for high-acuity, specialist care allows us to start work on high-priority projects, such as radiology, which will improve clinical and patient safety,” Jones said.
Jones said the new premises would also help to “provide an opportunity for us to form integrated care teams that support whānau to be healthy in their communities” and place those teams close together so they “can communicate more easily so patients don’t have to repeat their story”.
A Te Whatu Ora-supplied artist's impression of the front entrance to the revamped Dalton House. Photo / Te Whatu Ora
The sister buildings of Vautier and Dalton House occupy a sprawling area at the southern end of Dalton St and the redevelopment project will include a revamp of the exterior and interior of both buildings.
The plans will likely return vibrancy - and other tenants - to the southern end of the city centre, where the buildings have sat largely vacant in recent years.
News of Te Whatu Ora’s plans gained a mixed reaction from Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise.
On one hand, she felt it was recognition of the wants and needs of residents, but she was also surprised to learn of it from a journalist.
“I know absolutely nothing. I’m not kidding, I’ve heard nothing,” Wise told Hawke’s Bay Today.
What Vautier House will look like once the Wallace Development upgrades are complete. Photo / Wallace Development
“Wow, well, I’m delighted to hear that. That’s wonderful.”
Wise said she had engaged with lobbyists to try to get greater access to decision-makers at Te Whatu Ora, particularly with regard to plans for the redevelopment of Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
“It’s certainly something that I’m going to be focusing on, now that we know there are plans to redevelop our hospital, to ensure that we get the right services here in Napier,” Wise said.
”I’m not suggesting that we get a hospital in Napier. We don’t. But we need the right level of primary care to serve our population.
Dalton House is an imposing structure at the southern end of Napier's CBD. Photo / Warren Buckland
”It’s not too much to ask for, I would think.”
Dalton House and Vautier House formerly housed Government departments up until 2021, when the last of those departments, the Ministry for Social Development, vacated and left a question mark over the future of the 40-year-old buildings.
Local property investor Mark Brown-Thomas has long owned the sister buildings and had been trying to sell them in recent years. He was contacted for comment.
A Wallace Development project description stated the plans would transform both buildings“to create modern, functional, attractive office spaces”.
Wallace Development Company development manager Ryan Schnell said the project would also see the buildings become “a landmark property that will redefine the city centre”.
Dalton House has become rundown and largely vacant in recent years. Photo / Warren Buckland
“By enclosing balconies to create more floor space, the total net lettable office space will increase from 7269 square metres to 8400sq m, providing ample room for businesses to thrive.”
Solar panels and EV chargers would be added, he said.
Dalton House and Vautier House are located next to the city’s Civic Precinct, which itself is set to undergo a $55 million revamp.
The Civic Precinct includes Napier Courthouse, Napier City Council’s vacant library building, and an empty lot where the council’s former civic building used to stand.
The library building and now-demolished civic building were found to be earthquake-prone in 2017.
Napier City Council will build new facilities on that site and, combined with the redevelopment of Dalton House and Vautier House, should bring life back to the southern end of the city.
Archive image taken in the 1960s of the Civic Precinct development. Dalton House and Vautier House now occupy the most southern block pictured.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is also located across the road.
Dalton and Vautier House were built in the mid-1980s for Government services for around $18m.
A cafe, Poppy’s, still operates out of the ground floor of Dalton House, but the huge site otherwise sits largely vacant at present.
The police, Oranga Tamariki and Ministry for Social Development have all used the site in the past, which is known as 180-190 Dalton St.
Colliers Hawke’s Bay was involved in the sale of the buildings.
