Cinema returns at last after Christchurch earthquake
| Hoyts Cinemas is returning to Christchurch city centre for the first time since the 2011 earthquakes destroyed their eight-screen complex in the old railway station building |
The earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand, in February 2011 killed 185 people, caused more than $40-billion NZ in damage, and destroyed nearly half the downtown’s building stock. The building was demolished four years ago. A computer generated image shows how a proposed new $50 million Hoyts cinema development in central Christchurch, New Zealand will look.
Construction is due to start next year on the new cinema and expected to be complete by the middle of 2018. The three-level complex will have a food precinct on the ground floor with 16 dining outlets, two very large cinema screens and two screens featuring luxury seating and food and drinks service. The Lux service was previously only available in Auckland and Hamilton. Every seat in the new cinema will be a recliner.
The project is being developed by Calder Stewart Development, which purchased the land from state regeneration agency Otakaro.
Hoyts New Zealand general manager Matthew Garelli said last month that the move back to the city centre was a “no brainer”.
“We have been looking at the region ever since the quakes, but over the last couple of years it has become a bit easier to understand what the vision for the CBD was going to look like, ” he said. “This was about understanding where the action was going to be. That was hard to understand four years ago.
“Once we knew that the bus interchange was going to be a hub of activity, it was a bit of a no- brainer.”
