Sir Owen Glenn visits Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre

Sir Owen Glenn didn't leave Rotorua without shouting some beers first.

The multi-millionaire was in the city visiting the Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre.

The centre is undergoing a $22.5 million revamp, with Glenn contributing $3m in memory of his friend, Sir Howard Morrison, who died in 2009.

Today, he bumped that figure up slightly - slipping senior site manager Leon Green $200 in cash for beers after work for the tradies "on Sir Howard".

Glenn grins when asked what he thinks Morrison would have thought of the renovations.

"He'd insist on singing in it.

"He had great pride in Rotorua. He was a Rotorua man. He was very, very proud of his heritage.

"Ōhinemutu was his fortress."

Glenn said the redeveloped performing arts centre would be a "focal point" for the city.

"It will be here forever."

Sir Owen Glenn (centre) with Rotorua Lakes Council arts and culture director Stewart Brown (left). Photo / Andrew Warner

The centre was closed to the public in November 2017 after a seismic assessment concluded that the building - which was built in 1931 - was earthquake-prone, at just 25 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS). The threshold for a building to be considered earthquake-prone is less than 34 per cent NBS.

At a council committee meeting on Thursday, a report stated there had been no damage to the building from earthquakes in January.

Following last week's earthquakes, council contractor Hawkins had visually checked the building, scaffolding and equipment for damage, with none found.

"The orchestra pit work, stage house painting and asbestos removal is all nearing completion," the report stated.

"The roof has been removed from the green room, concert chamber and admin block, and foundation excavation is underway."

The remaining curved facade would be removed in March, which would reveal two heritage wings for the first time since the mid-1990s.

Construction would begin on a rebuild of the floor around the orchestra pit, foundation work and roof framing for the concert chamber.

In October last year, Local Democracy Reporting reported about $60,000 had been spent on asbestos removal from the building.

Earlier today,site manager Brent Wade said the asbestos removal was about 95 per cent complete.

The Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua Lakes Council arts and culture director Stewart Brown said Rotorua had missed about 17 shows a year due to the building's closure, although many events had shifted to the Energy Events Centre.

He said the done-up centre would be dominant among venues in the Bay of Plenty, as the only 1,000-seat theatre in the region and the council was working on securing international events.

The project was originally costed at $17.9m but secured $22.5m in mid-2019.

That was made up of $11.5m from the council, with the rest coming from Glenn, the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust, the New Zealand Community Trust, Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Ngāti Whakaue Education Endowment Trust and the One Foundation.

The centre is scheduled to reopen in February next year.

And how does Sir Owen Glenn feel, seeing his donations in brick and mortar?

"If I don't spend it, all the children and grandchildren I have will spend it. It feels good … I started with nothing. Everything's going pretty well, I think. If you come next week and you see me with a [hard] hat on, things didn't go that well."