Safari Group's design for the Wyndham Tryp hotel and preservation of the former Palmerston North post office. Photo / Safari Group
Safari Group's design for the Wyndham Tryp hotel and preservation of the former Palmerston North post office. Photo / Safari Group
Cries of “ooh” and “wow” greeted an artist’s impression of the hotel that will preserve the original facade and structure of the former Palmerston North post office building.
The Safari Group announced last October it had bought the building and would build a hotel on the prominent site on TheSquare.
Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith shared the drawing at the end of his Local History Week talk last Thursday.
The artist’s impression shows all the facade, original and extension, that faces The Square will be retained, plus the original facade of five windows on Main St. Behind is the five-storey hotel.
Asked by an audience member if he was confident the hotel will be built, Smith replied “absolutely”.
The Safari Group has a track record of developing hotels and apartments in heritage buildings. It is ahead of schedule with its planning and the hotel is due to open in 2025, Smith said.
It is the Safari Group’s first foray into regional New Zealand and it will preserve the original facade through a deconstruction and construction process.
It will be a 4.5-star, 86-room Wyndham Tryp hotel with provision for retail, a health spa, gym and conference facilities.
At the well-attended talk, Smith said he opened his first bank account at the former post office and his wife Michelle used to work there, in telephone services.
The city council has been an enabler in bringing new life to the building. It needed the commercial sector to step forward as it was not the council’s role to buy it.
The former Palmerston North post office on the corner of The Square and Main St. The clocktower was removed after the 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes.
When it opened on February 5, 1906, it was one of the grandest post offices in the country and still has magnificent bones, Smith said.
A symbol of pride in the town’s progress and modernity, the new landmark was an instant favourite with postcard photographers.
The building was extended in 1917 and again in 1937.
It was the town’s fourth post office and was designed by Wellington architect Joshua Charlesworth, who also designed the Wellington Town Hall.
In 1901 Palmerston North’s population was 6500 but it had increased to 10,000 in 1906. Many grand buildings were built during the Edwardian era.
Department store Collinson and Cunninghame opened its doors in 1904 and the Municipal Opera House, where Farmers is now, the following year. The Grand Hotel also opened in 1906.
The Square building continued to serve as the city’s post office until 1988, when New Zealand Post moved to the corner of Main and Princess Sts with a drive-through facility.
Smith said he had received so many letters and emails about the state of the old post office.
E2 New Homes and Properties planned a retail development for the site but collapsed in 2014. New owner Palmerston Post was not willing to take up any of the redevelopment opportunities suggested by the former owners and endorsed by the council, Smith said.
Safari Group’s artist’s impression shows a gleaming T&G clocktower in the background - but the art deco structure is currently anything but.
Asked by an audience member about the state of that building, Smith said investment attracts investment.
He had spoken to the owner from time to time and he shared the audience member’s “complete frustration” about the “embarrassing” building.
The owner had been granted money from the council’s Natural and Cultural Heritage Incentive Fund to clean the building’s exterior, but instead of using scaffolding the job had been done with a long brush, Smith said.
