Christchurch Town Hall restoration underway

The earthquake damaged Christchurch Town Hall. Photo / Geoff Sloan

The decision to repair Christchurch's earthquake-damaged Town Hall "stacks up financially and emotionally", Mayor Lianne Dalziel said today as she stood inside the landmark building she first attended as schoolgirl.

Christchurch City Council have voted to spend $127 million restoring the heritage-listed building on the banks of the river Avon in downtown Christchurch.

Today, a blessing and contract signing between the council and contractors Hawkins Construction was held in the dusty foyer of the 43-year-old building which has been closed since suffering damage in the ferocious shaking of the deadly February 22, 2011 tremor.

Ms Dalziel told of attending the official opening of the Sir Miles Warren-designed building in 1972 as a 12-year-old where she "marvelled at this incredible building".

Up until the earthquakes, it was where "we have come as a city to celebrate things", she said.

It was important for the rebuilding city to have a place for civic occasions "which is our place", the mayor said.

Most of the building's damage was caused by liquefaction and lateral spreading of the ground towards the Avon River.

It dropped 300mm in some areas and up to 600mm in others.

A number of options for the future of the Town Hall were considered, including partial restoration or building a new facility.

The recommendation to fully restore was based on a business case carried out by Deloittes that identified it was the most financially viable option that would also provide the fit-for-purpose civic, cultural and performing arts facilities a city the size of Christchurch needs.

It will be rebuilt to 100 per cent of the new building standard, and include upgraded lighting and audio systems, and a new cafe.

Steve Taw of Hawkins, who last visited the building to attend a George Thorogood concert, said it would be a challenging project, adding that "heritage projects always are".

But he said its restoration formed a major part of the city's rebuild as the building was "an iconic piece of Christchurch infrastructure".

Media were given a tour of Town Hall this morning.

The main auditorium has already been stripped back, with carpets torn up to reveal a cracked and sloping concrete floor.

The James Hay Theatre, criticised in the past for its poor acoustics that weren't up to scratch for modern music concerts, will be reconfigured to "address the needs of the performing arts community", Ms Dalziel said today.

It has also been gutted ahead of its refurbishment, with the seats and stage taken out.

Restoration work has already started and is to be completed in June 2018.