Thursday 26 September 2013

Committee recommends Hei Hei Community Centre be repaired

Christchurch City Council’s Community, Recreation and Culture Committee met and will recommend repairing the Hei Hei Community Centre to 100 per cent New Building Standard (NBS) to the Council when it sits in October.

The community centre, 12 Wycola Avenue, is one of the Council’s top 30 projects for funding, further investigation and, where possible, repair.

The Hei Hei Community Centre suffered structural damage in the earthquakes and was closed last year after a Detailed Engineering Evaluation showed its seismic capacity was one per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS). Due to the repair method proposed by the structural engineer there is no material or cost difference between repairing the building to 67 per cent NBS or 100 per cent NBS.

The current estimate to strengthen and repair the building to 67 per cent NBS, in line with Council’s Earthquake Prone Building Policy, is $553,000 (excluding GST). Due to the nature of the repair the current estimate to repair the building to 100 per cent NBS is also $553,000 (excluding GST). The repairs work will include removing unreinforced masonry block walls and replacing them with reinforced block walls. Columns will also be replaced and extra bracing in the roof and upper level flooring will be added.

Committee Chair Councillor Yani Johanson says he welcomes the positive progress being made for the Hei Hei community.

“The Committee is supportive of re-opening local facilities as a top priority, and looks forward to Council agreeing to fund the repair of the Hei Hei Community Centre. The Committee has asked staff to engage with key stakeholders over the repair plans and also to examine environmentally sustainable improvements that can be made at the same time.”

The community has been actively seeking the community centre’s repair and reinstatement. The building is 630m2 and prior to being closed was used for various community activities including dance, theatre and meeting space. Hei Hei is an area of growth and new subdivisions in the Hornby – Hei Hei areas are anticipated.

The Committee will also recommend that the repairs are temporarily funded from the Building and Infrastructure Improvement Allowance while the insurance claim is being finalised.

If approved by the Council in October, the next steps are to draw up the detailed designs, tender the work out and then begin construction. It is envisaged that Hei Hei Community Centre repairs will be completed by September 2014.

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