Iconic Mountaineer "Undressed"

4/04/09

The ‘dressing’ on the iconic Mountaineer building in Queenstown will come down at the end of this week revealing extensive restoration work to the building façade.

  The historic landmark has been masked since December 2007 by a life-sized pictorial representation, printed on hessian, of how the building will look in its restored state.

 Gary Dent, Rilean Construction Director said the dramatic unveiling befitted the heritage building which had been an important landmark in Queenstown for more than 120 years.

 “This is a significant milestone in the redevelopment of The Mountaineer and we feel privileged to be part of it,” he said.

 Mr Dent said the company had worked closely with Heritage Architects Oakley Gray and followed a conservation plan throughout the project.

 “This has been a really special project to work on and we’ve loved every minute of it. The building is looking simply stunning, with its very distinctive original window frames carefully restored and double glazed, and much of the original stone walls preserved for future generations,” he said.

 Johnny Stevenson, Director of Westwood Group Holdings Ltd, which owns The Mountaineer, said he was delighted to see the protected building restored to its former glory and finally ‘revealed’ to the community.

 “We’re on track to open The Mountaineer in July and we’re thrilled with how it’s looking,” he said.

 “The redevelopment has married the old with the new to deliver what we consider to be one of the finest buildings in New Zealand. It will house a number of prestigious retail outlets and quality office space that we’re sure will make it a ‘must see’ destination.”

 Scaffolding on part of the building (Shotover St/Rees St) came down last weekend. Rilean Construction crew will start taking down the hessian sheeting covering the historic part of the building (Beach St/Rees St) this Friday (3 April) and expect to complete the job on Saturday.

 The pictorial hessian sheeting was purpose-designed and printed in Queenstown to cover a site measuring 6m tall x 30m wide, totalling 180 square meters. It is the first time this type of fascia has been used in Queenstown.

Press release from Rilean Construction and Westwood Group Holdings Ltd
4 April 2009