The first stage of the restoration of Dunedin’s former Gresham Hotel is almost complete.
Apartments on the upper floors of the 136-year-old building will be complete in about two months.
Building owner Stephen Macknight, of Dunedin, said the eight apartments featured original ceiling and brick work, and would be leased for a mix of short and long-stay accommodation.
Scaffolding that had masked the building since January 11 was taken down this week to reveal a crisp white, plaster-style facade.
Mr Macknight said the paint job was similar to the look of the building when it first opened as the Terminus Hotel in 1880.
Work on the $1.5 million redevelopment had unearthed lots of small things, including a sign painted on an apartment wall which told the story of the history of the building, he said.
He declined to say how much the one and two-bedroom apartments would cost to rent.
Following completion of the apartments, work on the ground floor, which would offer space for commercial ventures would start.
He was "very happy" with how the project was developing, he said.
"You never know quite how it’s going to turn out when you work with an old building."
On completion, the building would fuse the building’s original fixtures with the best modern style, he said.
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The Gresham, or 'Matelots and Ladies Rest'. A Byzantine interior upstairs, once frequentlied by fisher folk. In those days, you could walk from the wharf over the railway over the one way to the Gresh. The juke box played 'Les soeurs, elles fait ca pour elles meme', by Annie Lennox, Tina Turner. Staff asked if you wanted a steak sandwich.