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Ross Giblin / Stuff
Currently, the Gordon Wilson Flats, pictured, are only recognized as a heritage building by the city council.
A wrench has been put in place for plans to develop Wellington’s Gordon Wilson Flats, as Heritage New Zealand has announced that it will consult on a proposal to include them on the heritage list.
On Thursday, Heritage NZ said the McLean Flats and Gordon Wilson Flats at The Terrace will be featured for a category one heritage list.
Victoria University of Wellington, which owns both buildings, revealed plans earlier this year to demolish and renovate the Gordon Wilson Flats into a “gateway” to the city with an open-air entrance plaza and new teaching and research facilities. .
Dr. Jamie Jacobs, Central Region Director for Heritage NZ, said that he had started to advance his heritage proposal before the university submitted its development proposal.
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An artist’s impression of the University of Victoria’s plans to renovate the Gordon Wilson Flats into a new “gateway” to the city.
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Jacobs said the university supported the Heritage NZ proposal as it wanted clarity on the heritage values of the buildings. “We believe this report will give them that.”
The Wellington City Council already recognizes Gordon Wilson Flats as a heritage building in its district plan. A ruling by the Environmental Court confirmed this list in 2017, after the university sought to remove it from its heritage program.
This means that any demolition is currently a “restricted discretionary activity” in the hands of the council and would require the consent of resources.
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Under the proposal of the University of Victoria, Gordon Wilson Flats would be demolished.
A spokeswoman for the city council confirmed that the McLean Flats building was not on the city council’s heritage list, and a certificate of compliance was received in July confirming its demolition. This does not require the consent of the resource, as it is not currently on the list.
Inclusion on the Heritage NZ Historic Places list would formally recognize nationally the historical, heritage and architectural values of both buildings.
Heritage NZ said both sets of apartments had the potential to revert to their original use when they were built in the mid-20th century, to help alleviate the current housing shortage.
“Hopefully, the values and commitments expressed by the university that include finding ‘new solutions to complex problems’ extend beyond demolition,” said Jacobs.
The Heritage NZ report describing your proposal was written by Dr. Ann McEwan and Blyss Wagstaff, Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Senior estate assessors said the two apartment complexes, standing at right angles to each other, were outstanding examples of mid-20th century modernist architecture and social housing.
Both sets of floors, which are at right angles to each other, have a colored history.
Built in the 1940s and 1950s, they were designed by the Department of Housing Construction as state rental housing, and were expected to attract workers from the central city.
The report said both buildings were of “exceptional historical significance” due to their association with the state housing program, initiated by the country’s first Labor government in 1935.
“They are an expression of the culture of social welfare provision by the central government as it evolved throughout the 20th century.”
Gordon Wilson Flats was the country’s only remaining example of state high-rise housing in the 1950s, he said.
Both sets of houses were also examples of modernist architecture as a characteristic focus of the country at the time, and together they reflected the architectural evolution before and after the Second World War.
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If Heritage NZ’s proposal to make category one apartments heritage listed is successful, it would provide strong national recognition of the importance of buildings and could have ramifications for the proposed development.
Discussions were continuing between the council and the university, the council spokeswoman said.
A university spokesperson said Gordon Wilson Flats was deemed unsuitable for state housing and was identified as an earthquake hazard before being sold to the university.
They were not suitable for student housing “due to their open balconies and their location in a residential neighborhood.”
They were also of no interest to private sector developers, “because an adequate rate of return cannot be achieved on the $ 70 million needed to strengthen and remedy them.”, the spokesman said.
Thursday’s proposal comes after Heritage New Zealand announced that it was consulting on a separate proposal to convert Wellington’s central library into a category one heritage site.
Public submissions for the Heritage NZ apartment proposal are open until October 13. Once completed, a board will consider them before making any decisions.
