Private investors are being asked to help save one of Christchurch's most significant heritage sites.
The restoration of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, which was extensively damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes, was expected to cost at least $100 million.
Designed by architect Benjamin Mountfort and completed in 1865, the Gothic Revival buildings housed Canterbury’s provincial government.
Architectural historian Ian Lochhead said the site holds immense historical and architectural significance.
"It’s the only surviving provincial council buildings from the provincial era of New Zealand's political history," he said.
Lochhead said Christchurch’s earthquake recovery would not feel complete until the landmark was restored.
"It’s one of New Zealand's great architectural spaces. The recovery from the earthquake, really, as far as I'm concerned, won’t be complete until we have that space back again."
Christchurch City Council committed $20 million towards the project but was now seeking private investment to fund the remainder of the restoration.
Council head of civic and international relations Andrew Rutledge said costs varied depending on the final proposal but restoring the full complex would likely exceed $100 million.
"There's been various costings done and it really depends on what solution we're looking for. You're in the $100 million mark for all of the buildings," he said.
The council was considering a range of future uses for the site, including retail and hospitality, potentially under a long-term lease arrangement.
"We’re open to any ideas that are going to help get this thing back to where it should be," Rutledge said.
The buildings, which have heritage protection dating back nearly 50 years, cannot be demolished.
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga said it supported the council's efforts to find a viable path for the site's future.
Lochhead believed central government should play a role in securing a way forward for the complex and look to provide more funding.
"This is a building that really should be accessible to the New Zealand public, because it is so important," he said.
"But with a heritage building of this significance, the kind of use that it can be put to has to be very carefully managed."
However, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith said taxpayers had already made a significant contribution to Christchurch's earthquake recovery and any future Government funding would require Cabinet approval.
"We are operating in a tight fiscal environment with many competing priorities. Our main priority in the Arts, Culture and Heritage space is to continue funding grants available to the sector," Goldsmith said.
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