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Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui's heritage Thain's building 'fantastic' - new owner says

Sue Dudman
By Sue Dudman
News director - Whanganui Chronicle·Whanganui Chronicle·
12 Nov, 2018 05:00 PM2 mins to read

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The Thain's building at 1 Victoria Ave has new owners who want to preserve it.

The Thain's building at 1 Victoria Ave has new owners who want to preserve it.

The new owners of Whanganui's heritage Thain's building plan to do their best to make sure it is preserved.

Blairholme Trust has bought the three-storey building on the corner of Victoria Ave and Taupo Quay at the entrance to the central business district.

The Blairholme trustees are Whanganui accountant Bryce Smith and artist Sue Cooke.

Read more: Whanganui heritage building at 1 Victoria Ave sold after application to demolish rejected
Historic Whanganui buildings at risk, others being preserved by owners
Whanganui's Thain's Building saved from demolition but problem remains

Tony Karantze, the previous owner of the building, applied to Whanganui District Council for consent to demolish it, saying he could not afford to bring the severely earthquake-prone building up to standard and that resource consent for demolition would make it easier to sell the property.

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The application, opposed by 32 of 33 submitters, was declined by independent commissioner Rob van Voorthuysen after a hearing in August.

Cooke was one of the submitters and told the hearing the building was "priceless and irreplaceable" and a core part of the Edwardian gateway to the city centre which had a cluster of heritage buildings.

"[It's] a precedent, I believe, as a community we cannot condone."

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Following the release of the application decision, the property was advertised again for sale and was sold privately.

Smith told the Whanganui Chronicle it was business as usual for the building and the current tenants would remain at this stage.

"I haven't firmly decided what my plans are," Smith said.

"I'm going to not demolish it. Over time I'm sure I will address some of the issues that relate to the building. It's a fantastic building I think. We will be doing our best to make sure it's preserved.

Discover more

Thain's Building saved from demolition

16 Aug 04:30 AM

Right call on Thain's building

17 Aug 12:00 AM

Crumbling charm in Whanganui's Old Town

02 Nov 06:00 PM

Future plans for heritage building unknown

25 Oct 08:00 PM

"If all heritage buildings in Whanganui were knocked down, Whanganui would be a shadow of its former self. I can't afford to buy them all but I could afford to buy that one."

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