The Cost of Saving Hunter

One of the main problems to saving Hunter has been the money that would be required for the restructuring. Additionally, such a task has never been undertaken in New Zealand. In 1974, the University's Engineers (also the architects of such architectural monstrosities as the Rankine Brown, New Kirk and the new Von Zelditz Tower), Kingston, Reynolds, Thom and Allardice prepared a paper in which they examined the possible methods that could be used to strengthen the building and the cost of them.

They gave four options : strengthen the building for an indefinite life-span; demolish the Chemistry wing and replace it with a new structure while retaining the rest of the building; demolition of the Physics and Chemistry wings and replacing the area with a new structure while retaining the rest of the building; and the total demolition and replacement of it by a new structure. The figures for these different options were respectively: $6.4 m, $5.9 m, $5.8 m, and $4.1 m.

The first and last figures are the important ones — they are the cost of total upgrading and the cost of constructing a new building. The other two figures are compromises.

In the meantime, the Wellington City Council came up with its own estimate of the costs of retaining the building at $1.3 m. This was later revised for a Town and Country Planning Appeal Board meeting in late 1975 to $2.9 m.

However, in the last two years the costs of retaining Hunter have increased. The latest figure provided by the University architects is $6.9 m, and by the City Council Engineer $3.6 m. There has never been an adequate explanation as to why there is such a wide difference between the costs from the University's Engineer, and the City Council's Engineer.