Final Days For Nelson’s Iconic Red House

Wednesday, 19 March 2025, 7:44 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

After years of turning heads, the distinctive Red House on Rocks Road will be gone in just three months.

The building has been red-stickered since the August 2022 storm sent a landslide through the back of the house and is now slated for deconstruction.

Once a bright and tidy icon on Nelson’s waterfront, the property has fallen into disrepair in the years since, falling victim to tagging, broken windows, and the high-profile theft (and subsequent return) of a replica unicorn figurehead.

The property was the last to be purchased by the city council as it sought to buy out properties damaged by the August 2022 storm where the cost to repair was greater than the value of the property.

Former owner Caleb Harcus was pleased to finally see action on the dilapidated building.

“I like to think that I'm a tidy Kiwi. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. When you see what a mess it’s become– I just wanted to clean up for so long,” he said.

“When I take my boy around to the playground at Tāhuna, I would just look at the ocean, I couldn’t look that way. So, it’ll be nice when it’s just gone, because it’s just not what it was.”

Harcus said the red-stickering of the house after the August 2022 storm didn’t affect him.

“It was a reminder of all the people in Nelson who had to get it sorted, because I never lived there, it was just a rental property to me. I felt sorry for all the other people.”

He added that people always ask him what’s happening with the property, so it was good to finally be able to give them an answer.

The Red House has become emblematic of the August 2022 storm, but it was only one of the 16 properties bought by the council.

It bought 11 properties on Brook Street, all of which will be relocated; four in Tāhunanui, with two each slated for relocation and deconstruction; and one in Bishopdale which will also be relocated.

Four properties, all on Brook Street, have been relocated, and the remaining 12 are scheduled to be relocated or deconstructed by July.

The total cost of the property buyouts was $9.6 million, which included a contribution of half from the Government.

To help keep deconstruction costs down, council is running a competitive procurement process, with final costs to be determined once a contractor is selected.

The tender covers the deconstruction, removal, and salvage of selected properties, with a strong focus on sustainability and waste minimisation.

Temporary stabilisation work has been confirmed for the purchased properties where needed, but any future landslide clearance or stabilisation will depend on the future plans for each site, which are yet to me determined.

In the meantime, the council will continue to maintain the sites.

Harcus thought “something nice” could be done with the site.

“It’d be nice to reinstate the pōhutukawas. The ones that I planted, I think they’re long under the dirt.”

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