The building at 180 Rattray St was earmarked for demolition in 2011 but, after Lion NZ Ltd bought the site, demolition was delayed.
The building was weather-proofed and provided storage during a redevelopment project at the company, which also owns the nearby Speight’s Brewery in the same street.
A Lion spokeswoman said yesterday the company originally bought the site 12 years ago for storage purposes during renovation work at Speight’s Brewery.
It had since not been used in some years and the building was now "structurally compromised and unsafe", she said.
Lion secured the site and a controlled demolition was now taking place.
The company had no plans as yet for the future of the site, the spokeswoman said.
The earthquake-prone building was located in an area of Rattray St that was cold, windy and dark, with little foot traffic, the previous owner, Lincoln Darling, said when he was selling the site.
Over 13 years ago, the building housed Furniture Court, but when it moved locations the previous owners were unable to attract a new tenant for the building.
Although it was built before 1900 and had bluestone foundations and ground floor, the modernisation of the building had destroyed the original facade to the point it no longer had any heritage significance.
