A Dunedin building owner hopes a $250,000 investment in his ageing Princes St property will help breathe new life into a ''dead piece'' of the city.
And, if other owners are not prepared to follow his lead, Bill Brown says they should consider selling up and stepping aside.
Mr Brown owns 471 Princes St, a glass-fronted building hiding an Edwardian brick masonry structure behind it, parts of which date back to before 1882.
The building was given an Art Deco facade in 1938 and a glass facade - to give the building a modern appearance - in 1987.
Mr Brown said work to remove the glass facade would be completed by mid-February, revealing the hidden Art Deco facade, which would then be restored.
The work was part of a wider upgrade which included refurbishing and reconfiguring apartments upstairs, and a retail space downstairs, as well as earthquake-strengthening. The latter would include reinforcing parapets and brick masonry on the building's exterior, he said.
The entire project was expected to take up to two years and cost up to $250,000, but Mr Brown was confident the results would be worthwhile.
As well as generating a greater return from his own building, Mr Brown hoped it would encourage other building owners in the area to follow suit.
The surrounding area had been a ''dead piece'' of retail in the city, but the redevelopment of the warehouse precinct and former Chief Post Office further north was helping change that, he said.
''Princes St is very underrated and I can see it's about to move. In the next 10 years Princes St won't be the dead piece of retail that it has been in the last 20 years.
''I'm predicting good things . . . The buildings will slowly get revitalised, and I think the people who own the buildings who don't want to do it should possibly let them go - but that's a personal decision for property owners.
Mr Brown said the cost involved had given him ''a few sleepless nights'', but he was confident the investment would pay for itself and improve the look of the building and the area.
''If I improve mine, it might excite some other people.''
Mr Brown was granted a non-notified consent for the upgrade in October, and said he had nothing but praise for the Dunedin City Council's ''flexible'' approach to helping projects like his.
The council had contributed $9000 from its Princes St grants scheme, and given Mr Brown three years' rates relief, as part of its support for the project.
Mr Brown singled out the council's acting urban design team leader, Dr Glen Hazelton, for special praise, saying he had been ''involved since the start'' 18 months ago.
''I've had no problems at all. It's been quite encouraging.''
