Eight buildings in Whanganui

Taranaki/Whanganui/Manawatu
Grant: 
$154,003
Grant Type: 
Professional Advice Grant
Date funded: 
May 2020

Whanganui is well-regarded (nationally and now internationally, as a member of the League of Historic
Cities) for its stock of late-Victorian and Edwardian buildings, particularly concentrated in the city centre. The
multiple buildings that are part of this advice are amongst the most crucial of these – both as individual structures and as contributors to the central streetscape.

Whanganui’s Town Centre Regeneration Strategy highlights the CBD’s heritage stock as a priority for strengthening to enable adaptive reuse, and eventual introduction of up-to-code apartments in the upper storeys of central heritage buildings.

On behalf of building owners, the Whanganui District Council put together a Heritage EQUIP multiple building application to part-fund professional advice based on fee proposals from several engineering firms.

The Heritage EQUIP professional advice grant will go towards a detailed seismic assessment, concept structural design, and high-level costing of that design for each of the eight buildings. Three engineering firms will undertake the advice across the eight buildings.

This outcome is the result of successful partnership work between the building owners, Whanganui District Council, Heritage New Zealand, and Heritage EQUIP. 

All buildings are listed as heritage items in the Whanganui District Plan, and 30 Drews Ave is listed with Heritage New Zealand as a category 2 historic place.

New Zealand Heritage List entry for 30 Drews Ave - Heritage New Zealand website