'Pink palace' undergoing makeover

Frances Hodgkins Retirement Village will lose its tag as the ''pink palace'' once a six-month renovation project is finished.

Ryman Healthcare managing director Simon Challies said work to paint the exterior of the large St Clair building began last week.

''We are also doing some minor changes to the facade, so it's going to look quite different. It won't just be a different colour,'' Mr Challies said.

The new colour of the building was being kept secret but Mr Challies said it would be a change from the peach shade it is now.

''I got teased the other day that it's no longer going to be the pink palace.''

The size of the building, which contained 72 apartments, meant maintenance work was a ''major undertaking'' and it was expected to take six months to complete, he said.

A white screen had been put over the area that was being worked on to ensure painting could continue in wet weather and plastering dried quickly.

Mr Challies would not reveal how much was being spent on the work.

- vaughan.elder@odt.co.nz