3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Work on restoring building begins
After lying dormant for decades, the Sims building in Port Chalmers has become a hive of activity again.
Work has officially begun to restore the historic building at the corner of Beach St and Macandrew Rd, which is a remnant of the once-thriving shipbuilding industry.
It was earmarked to become a carpark until a group of residents stepped in, driven by an alternative vision that celebrates history and invests in a creative future for Dunedin.
The building was saved from being demolished by the Port Chalmers Foundry Trust, and the work marks an exciting step forward in creating a vibrant hub for the West Harbour and wider Dunedin communities.
The Dunedin City Council (DCC) is putting more than $700,000 toward the initial part of the restoration.
Trust co-chairman Bill Brown was delighted contractors were on site and physical work had finally begun.
"It's good — it's going in a positive direction.
"It'll be good to get a roof on it and see the old foundry restored."
The initial work involved contractors demolishing the southern end of the building, which was an "add-on" to the old foundry, he said.
"In the meantime, that's going to become a car parking area.
"And the Dunedin City Council is also focusing on what's needed for the property, as far as stabilisation of the bank and the trees behind the building.
"There will also be a decontamination of the whole site, eventually."
Ultimately, the plan was for the building to become a hub for community use in some form, he said.
The Sims building was constructed in 1880, and then about a decade later, it was bought by partners Isaac Stevenson and John Cook, who ran an engineering company in it.
The business played a large part in Port Chalmers' creation and development, originally making simple appliances.
It later became the most up-to-date plant engaged in ship building and repairing in New Zealand.
As well as undertaking some of the southern hemisphere's biggest ship-repair jobs, the company manufactured gold dredges for the Otago gold fields and constructed and fitted out ships for World War 1 and 2.
In the 1930s, an extension was added by the Stevenson and Cook Engineering Company.
In 1989, DCC took ownership of the building from the Port Chalmers Borough Council.
It was leased to the Port Chalmers Yacht Club until the buildings could not be occupied any longer, due to asbestos.
In March 2017, an asbestos roof and cladding were removed from the building.
The building is the last trace of the shipbuilding enterprise which once stretched along a large part of the Port Chalmers waterfront.
