Railway Campus opens again; remedial work to continue
by Sarah McDonald | Monday December 8 2008 - 11:33am
Auckland’s Railway Campus is set to house tenants again before Christmas – despite construction work to fix leaks not being scheduled for completion until February 2010.
The heritage building, which has been closed since early this year, is capable of accommodating 450 people in 223 units.
A freshly formed committee of owners is determined to start recouping some of the losses they have suffered as a result of the building being closed, as well as the $6.1 million bill they have had to cover on the remedial work.
Owners of larger units have to chip in more towards the costs than owners of studios – but the average bill per unit is $27,300.
Committee adviser Mike Collins, who owns six Railway Campus units, says owners have missed out on $4 million in rent due to the building being closed prematurely, before building permits were granted and the required construction work could be done.
Mr Collins says there was never any chance of meeting the original owners’ committee’s scheduled completion date of February 2009.
“It’s been empty all this year for nothing,” he says.
Now, Mr Collins says, the building will be reopened and tenants will be moved to a different unit when re-cladding is to be carried out on the part of the building they are occupying.
Peter Walters, who was a member of the original committee, defends the decision to close the building.
He says that the committee never made any decisions without a directive from a meeting of Railway Campus owners.
The Railway Campus used to have a management contract with the University of Auckland, but this has been terminated due to the construction work.
The units were designed for student tenants and share communal kitchen facilities.
Mr Collins said the rent is likely to average $150 a week per bed, with studios designed for couples priced at about $230 a week.
Units in the Railway Campus have recently sold for as low as $11,000 plus GST.
by Sarah McDonald | Monday December 8 2008 - 11:33am
Auckland’s Railway Campus is set to house tenants again before Christmas – despite construction work to fix leaks not being scheduled for completion until February 2010.
The heritage building, which has been closed since early this year, is capable of accommodating 450 people in 223 units.
A freshly formed committee of owners is determined to start recouping some of the losses they have suffered as a result of the building being closed, as well as the $6.1 million bill they have had to cover on the remedial work.
Owners of larger units have to chip in more towards the costs than owners of studios – but the average bill per unit is $27,300.
Committee adviser Mike Collins, who owns six Railway Campus units, says owners have missed out on $4 million in rent due to the building being closed prematurely, before building permits were granted and the required construction work could be done.
Mr Collins says there was never any chance of meeting the original owners’ committee’s scheduled completion date of February 2009.
“It’s been empty all this year for nothing,” he says.
Now, Mr Collins says, the building will be reopened and tenants will be moved to a different unit when re-cladding is to be carried out on the part of the building they are occupying.
Peter Walters, who was a member of the original committee, defends the decision to close the building.
He says that the committee never made any decisions without a directive from a meeting of Railway Campus owners.
The Railway Campus used to have a management contract with the University of Auckland, but this has been terminated due to the construction work.
The units were designed for student tenants and share communal kitchen facilities.
Mr Collins said the rent is likely to average $150 a week per bed, with studios designed for couples priced at about $230 a week.
Units in the Railway Campus have recently sold for as low as $11,000 plus GST.