A fire-damaged building at 389 Princes St is the latest to be targeted for heritage redevelopment, and could spark wider changes to the area.
Developer and archaeologist Hayden Cawte said his plans were to return his recent purchase to commercial use but as part of a wider redevelopment of the area, as had been done in the Vogel St warehouse precinct.
‘‘We think this could be the next place to go.''
His plans are supported by council urban design team leader Glen Hazelton, who described the alleyway behind the building as ‘‘an absolute gem of an alleyway''.
A visit by the Otago Daily Times yesterday showed the top floor of the building burned out, with a temporary roof keeping rain out but providing open plan living for a colony of pigeons.
Half-burned books - the building was used as a bookshop before the fire in 2011 - lay on broken shelving and singed pages littered the floor among the pigeon droppings.
But Dr Cawte said cleaning and engineering work was under way, and he planned to submit resource consent documents in six to nine weeks.
‘‘I hope tenants will be in by the end of the year.''
Dr Cawte also owns the former Forno's Auctioneers building and the old Briscoe buildings in Bond St, in the same block.
He was in discussion with people in ‘‘boutique manufacturing'' where there was also a tourist and retail element. Examples of that already in Dunedin included businesses such as Speight's, Emerson's Brewery and Cadbury.
Dr Cawte had been talking to new businesses keen to set up in the area, but would like to hear from more.
‘‘We're trying to combine and be innovative in the way we're doing these developments.''
He said there was ‘‘something of a shared vision'' with other building owners along the alleyway, as well as with the community and the council.
‘‘I think we're all moving in one direction now, which is quite nice. We'd like to be at the forefront of that.''
Dr Hazelton said he expected Dr Cawte to apply for help from the city's heritage fund, for which his development would be eligible.
Dr Hazelton said the building had been ‘‘of some concern to us''.
‘‘I'm really happy someone with a good work record with heritage buildings has taken it on.''
He had also had discussions with neighbouring building owners on how the area could change in coming years.
The council was committed to interim design work on how the alleyway could look.
If public access could be secured, the alley could be integrated with other street work in the area.
Under proposed changes to the city's district plan, the alleyway would be zoned as part of the warehouse precinct.
