Egmont Street Shopping Development (1984)

This building on Egmont Street stretches from Devon Street through to King Street - old town section 645.

It was built in 1984 for the owners Parininihi ki Waitotara Inc. by Roebuck Construction. It was designed by Fletcher Construction and the consulting engineers were Holmes Wood Poole & Johnstone Ltd. Erected at an estimated cost of $450,000 the block originally contained nine shops and office space.

The Mangaotuku stream runs under the building and a culvert had to be installed before building could begin. (TDN 8 September 2012)

Over the years a number of different retail outlets have operated from the building as well as a nightclub, Club 55, on the upper floor - this closed in late 2012.

Before this development the site was occupied by the Grand Central Hotel, built in 1894. The well-known Centreway Cafe also operated from the hotel premises.

On 17 November 1980 a fierce blaze ripped through the top storey of the old wooden building. All but one of the shops were destroyed, leaving only "The Third World" shop, managed by Mr H. (Harry) Duynhoven. The building, which had been recently bought by Mr A. McBride, was a complete write-off and was demolished soon after. (Daily News 18 November 1980)