University property and campus development director Tanya Syddall said under the university’s "Health Precinct Plan", released in 2021, the land at 63 and 65 Frederick St was important for developing a new learning and teaching-focused building for shared super labs and wet-lab teaching space.
However, the planning and development of a detailed proposal had not progressed at this stage.
The site contained the Naylor family house, built by Hugh Naylor in 1923.
Over the past year and a-half, the site has been cleared by Ann Naylor (Hugh Naylor’s granddaughter), with the aim of recycling or re-using much of the building materials, rather than just demolishing it.
She has managed to re-purpose much of the material into building an accommodation lodge at the Waitati Valley Equestrian Centre.
The tilt-slab building at the back of the section was the last piece of the puzzle to be removed from the site, and was taken by truck to Waitati on Wednesday night.
Centre owner Mark Spencer was delighted to have the material, particularly the tilt-slab building which would be used as accommodation for stablehands.
A sale and purchase agreement was signed between the university and the Naylor family in February 2022, with the expectation the Naylor family would demolish the house by November 30, 2023.
However, due to delays, demolition was only completed this week.
The university’s 25-year campus master plan stated the maximum potential of the health precinct would be realised if the university was able to acquire most of the block bounded by Frederick St, Great King St, Cumberland St and Albany St.
