Work begins on Farmers revamp

DEREK FLYNN

Floor work: QConstruction site manager Nick Murphy and his team have gutted some of the empty shops in Centre Point Mall and are preparing to level the floor, in the first two stages of amalgamating the mall with the Farmers store

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Construction work on the major redevelopment of Centre Point Mall and the Farmers building in Blenheim's Market St has begun.

The work includes earthquake strengthening of the original building on the corner of Market and High streets and amalgamating 12 of the 16 existing shop units.

QConstruction, from Kumeu, north of Auckland, has the contract to do the work, which is expected to be completed over five stages by November 2013.

Site manager Nick Murphy said work began on the first two stages of the project last month and would be finished by the end of October.

Construction workers have gutted the shops that previously housed Small Business Accounting, Mayflower Studio and The Koffee Shoppe and are working on re-levelling the floor, adding new toilets, and re-fitting the Accounting Plus office at the rear of the building.

Stages three, four and five would begin in March and should be completed by November 2013, Mr Murphy said.

The work would include refitting the remainder of Centre Point Mall and Farmers and strengthening the original building on the corner, built in the 1920s, he said.

"It is a complicated staging plan because we have to work around Farmers, who will be trading throughout the work," he said.

Although no-one from Farmers Trading Company was available for comment late yesterday, the work appears to support speculation that the company is planning a major redevelopment of its disjointed High St premises.

- The Marlborough Express

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