Historic Places Wellington has expressed sadness and frustration after a protected heritage building in the central city caught fire yesterday.
Police are investigating the cause of the blaze and say the building's structure has been seriously damaged.
Police have received reports that four young people were seen entering the derelict building before the fire broke out around 2.35pm.
"The thing that's so disappointing is I think it's an avoidable and preventable situation in that it’s a building that's been left abandoned to rot, to decay," Historic Places Wellington spokesperson Grace Ridley-Smith said.
"It's been unoccupied for years and years."
The building was designed in 1900. Today it's covered in graffiti on Ghuznee Street.
Ridley-Smith said urns which are part of the shop's façade are rare in Wellington, and a "whimsical detail" which reflect the building's Edwardian Classical front design.
The deadline for strengthening the building was a decade ago, and the vulnerable building notice was issued more than 20 years ago.
Since 2019, Wellington City Council and the owner has been involved in legal battles over restoring the building.
The owner received resource consent to strengthen the building last year. From March to October, the council and the owner were involved in discussions about the strengthening work. This month, council were waiting for further information on the progress of the building plan, a council spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the building owner, who did not wish to be named, told 1News the owner and council were in disagreement on which parts of the original building should be restored due to the financial cost. The owner thought the original roof, which isn't visible from behind the street front façade, shouldn't be kept, the spokesperson said.
In a press release, Historic Places Wellington referred to the situation as a convenient act of land banking which leaves the public and other building owners dealing with the consequences.
For years, passers-by have walked through shipping containers placed in front of the building, covering car parks, for safety.
The road is partially shut, with the cordon expected to remain until the building's façade is assessed for safety.
A gallery next to the building has delayed an exhibition planned for this week, Ridley-Smith said.
Since 2020, two other heritage properties in Wellington have also been destroyed by fire including an abandoned, historical building on Abel Smith Street and the sawtooth building at Shelly Bay.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau said she believes heritage buildings that need fixing can get in the way of much-needed housing developments.
She'd like to see councils have more levers to pull to see faster progress on vacant buildings.
"I do not want them sitting there for long periods of time, we're trying to revitalise the city so I'm very keen to work with our developers," she said.
She suggested higher tax rates for the owners of buildings that sit vacant for a certain amount of time with no progress being made.
Whanau said she would be discussing the issue with the incoming government and would like to see heritage laws reviewed at a local and national level so the consenting process could be fast-tracked.
"I will be approaching the incoming government very soon to see if they can assist, we know that Auckland city received some funding for their St James Theatre... we may need the same, especially for the Wellington Town Hall."
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