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Strengthened ‘Number 9’ will be ready to use by Christmas
Tuesday, October 02, 2012 • Kristine Walsh
It has been more than 18 months in the doing but Number 9, one of Gisborne’s more cherished heritage buildings, should be available for use by Christmas.

It will well exceed the 67 percent modern threshold for earthquake resistance, says project architect James Blackburne.

It has been more than a year since work started on the two-storey building at 9 to 11 Gladstone Road — colloquially known as Number 9. But while new contractors Currie Construction did not get on the job until March, they are optimistic they will be off site by December.

Between the the two contractors, they had done a great deal to ensure the earthquake resistance of the building, Mr Blackburne said.

Among measures taken was installation of internal framing inside and a ply diaphragm upstairs, application of carbon fibre cloth to the front facade, lowering of parapets on the side walls, pinning of those walls and beefing up the front parapet with a structural frame.

“Number 9 performed pretty well during Gisborne’s earthquake of 2007 but it was pounded by buildings on either side,” Mr Blackburne said.

“This work will secure it for the future.”

Constructed in 1909 or 1910 for the Eastern Co-Operative Building Society, the building has a category 2 NZ Historic Places Trust rating and is listed on the District Council’s heritage schedule.

It has been owned since 2009 by Dorcester Finance, which took it on as part of a package when it bought the surrounding Emerald Hotel.

Dorchester worked closely with the Historic Places Trust to ensure that work was done with respect to the building’s heritage values, said the group’s collections manager Darryl French.

With exterior heritage plastering well under way, all that had to be done was the installation of fire-safe doors and a basic interior repair and renovation, with the final fit-out to be discussed when tenants were secured.

“What we’re really doing is creating a bit of a blank canvas for future occupants, which could be something like a cafe downstairs and offices upstairs,” Mr French said.

Auckland-based Mr French was in Gisborne this week for the fun bit . . . the selection of exterior paint colours.

He was coy about what would replace the sky blue that made the building so distinctive for more than a decade but said it would definitely be different.

“We’re looking at something earthier — something that will better reflect Number 9’s iconic heritage status.”
MAKING IT AS IT WAS: While other contractors have been busy securing the earthquake resistance of Gisborne’s historic Number 9 building, concrete plasterer Nathan Davis has been perched on the facade, making sure the detailing looks just as it did more than 100 years ago. Picture by Dave Thomas
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