Farewell 158

File under: urbanism, architecture, heritage, gentrification, Wellington

The demolition of 158 Cuba St started early this week, and it's all happening very quickly. Here's a couple of shots of the process (courtesy of a certain prolific commenter).

I won't rehash the arguments that we've been over several times before, but to summarise: it's a shame to lose a characterful old building, but it was pretty close to falling down of its own accord and the replacement, while a couple of storeys taller than I'd prefer, looks pretty good.

Interestingly, there's an article on page 8 of today's Wellingtonian about David Roil (aka Mr Freak) and his thus-far fruitless search for an affordable Cuba St shop for his planned fashion, hairdressing and exhibition venture Freak!space. Given the developer's well-known quote about "cheap rents attract[ing] funky new businesses [that] give the street its reputation", perhaps Ms Krogh should offer the new ground floor tenancy to Mr Freak at below-market rates to ensure that even with a new building, Cuba St doesn't lose its soul".