The Reading Cinemas building on Courtenay Place in Wellington in April 2020, when it had already been closed for about a year after being deemed earthquake prone. Photo: CC 4.0 BY-SA / Tom Ackroyd
Georgina Campbell is in Wellington, with updates on three earthquake-prone or damaged buildings.
The cost of earthquake-strengthening and redeveloping Wellington’s Town Hall has rocketed from $182 million to a possible $329m - though Mayor Tory Whanau says it is unsurprising given the building's age.
And, Wellington City councillors have met to discuss the fate of the deserted Reading Cinemas on Courtenay Place, which closed in 2019.
Finally, several elderly residents in a Wellington apartment block have died while waiting on a solution to fix their earthquake-prone building.
The Herbert Gardens complex on The Terrace suffered non-structural damage in the 2016 Kaikōura quake.
