Hotel build’s first steps

The first of over 400 holes was dug late last week as initial work on the Alfred Hotel building project in central Blenheim got underway.

A ceremonial groundbreaking via digger by developer Chris Thornley, alongside representatives from Rangitāne o Wairau and Heritage New Zealand archeologists, has kicked off what is expected to be a busy summer of ground stabilizing and building.

The land for the 123-room hotel with the site – formerly occupied by the 1850’s St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and Sunday School, then the Marlborough Club – is now undergoing archaeological examinations by Heritage New Zealand’s Kirsty Sykes and Rangitāne o Wairau Enviromental manager Sally Neal.

Alfred Taylor Developments’ Managing Director Nic Smith, alongside Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor Andy Noble, said it was a “long time coming” but they envisaged plenty of progress on the riverside building site this summer.

“Today has made it very real for everyone involved. It is just as important to show we’re starting as Blenheim ... we’ve been in working with Council since March and resource consents since last October so it’s delightful to break ground and start to see physical process”, said Nic.

“The ground improvement from November is a huge part of the project, but this is the site of the old 1850’s Presbyterian Church and a historically-important area”, explained Andy.

“Once examinations are done we’re hoping to get underway with McMillan’s Civil getting their big rig in here in the beginning of November putting in four to five hundred grout stone columns, 12 metres deep for this big block of stabilized ground and we’ll start building early next year.

“We don’t expect to find anything here, but we’d rather do a thorough job and the right processes as that’s important to honour the history of this site and ensure the community sees that progress”, added Nic.

“It really all starts from here, we’ll have hoardings up around the site and we’ll be into it – there will be a lot of noise.”

Sally Neal and Kirsty Sykes say that the impact of this land and its historical occupants has ongoing impacts on Blenheim, as will the new hotel.

“We’ve brought it all together this morning as this ties into our weird street layout, as it was the old church and the centre of town near the kernel bridge – before that it would have been a migratory and trade route between pa”, says Sally.

“Our land is like an onion, and evidence of occupation is everywhere”.

“The Taylor River is quite cool as you can walk along and see the original layer and fabric of the township and imagine it around you, even the idea that the Marlborough Club was made from the refitting of framing from the Church gives that renewal”, describes Kirsty.

“With this a new development and we’ll see how we can acknowledge its history even if we don’t find anything.”