Caltex City North now open after extensive rebuild

Thanks to our supporters

The rebuild of Caltex City North took 13 weeks.

CALTEX City North has reopened this week after an extensive rebuild that has taken 13 weeks.

The new and improved service station, at 492 Great King St, has double the capacity of the previous version with eight pumps, and a larger shop with more on offer.

The forecourt now offers eight pumps to motorists.

The shop is an improvement on the previous premise.

There is a wider range of hot food available,as well as coffee.

The rebuild has been years in the planning. Caltex City North is locally owned and operated by Stephen Pulley, who began thinking about improving the facility about five years ago.

‘‘There was a lot of work before anything ever started,’’ he explains. ‘‘It took a while to get resource consent. We always had trouble with losing cars through them not being able to get in because we were just too small. So it was a chance to make it a bit bigger and get those cars off the road.’’

Stephen previously owned Caltex Crawford St, before buying Caltex City North in 2004. The service station now has about 10 staff, and has the advantage of being the final location to fill up on the one-system heading north out of Dunedin. It’s also in the middle of the student residential area, meaning there’s a loyal clientele on the doorstep.

Customers will find a far bigger offering at the Fix.

Although the rebuild has not been without issues, the timing of the project has been good, benefiting both from the winter months and the quieter period due to Covid-19.

Employing Christchurch project managers Argo Consulting Ltd, who specialise in the fuel industry, meant that the rebuild went as smoothly as possible.

‘‘That takes a lot of the hassles away,’’ Stephen says. ‘‘A few people said ‘you could do the project management yourself’, but once I got into it there’s no way. You have to know what you’re doing. Mike Davis and Argo, they took care of everything, outside and inside.’’

There were only three main contractors involved in the project — Calder Stewart, Hall Bros, and Petrotec.

As well as food and drink, a range of automobile products are available.

‘‘All the contractors have been great,’’ Stephen says. ‘‘They had a bit of pressure on them too.’’

Along with the expansive forecourt now accommodating eight cars rather than four, the Fix shop at Caltex City North has been greatly improved, with the old shop and workshop having been demolished.

There is now coffee and a bigger selection of hot food available, as well as a wider range of other necessities.

Caltex City North reopened for business on Monday.

CALTEX CITY NORTH: