Project Hardy Street School
Credit: Stuff Article 05:00, Apr 19 2023
'Non-renovators' undertake massive heritage-listed schoolhouse conversion
If it’s true that every building tells a story then this one would involve students, prisoners, public servants and, soon, tourists.
Built in 1860 as Hardy Street Girl’s School, this iconic Nelson building served as a public school for 30 years before being turned into offices for the Ministry of Works and later, the Ministry of Education.
By the time current owners Jason and Jennifer Monopoli bought it 2019, it had morphed into private offices, predominantly for the not-for-profit sector.
“The previous owner had it for 30 years and although he’d talked to an architect about doing it up, he didn’t get around to it,” says Jason, who owns Orange Dog, a print company specialising in the automotive industry….
…They engaged local architect Alisdair Daines who had previously drawn up plans for the former owner. “He knew the history of the building and understood our desire to preserve it for another 160 years,” Jason says.
It wasn’t the easiest project, given Covid interruptions, and Gib and labour shortages.
The facade of the building has a category-1 listing with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, so they retained that, but were able to strip back the interior to its bones….
“We’re not renovators but we decided to take the opportunity to give the building a new lease of life. We also didn’t have any experience of a tourism business, but then neither did we have any printing experience and that worked out okay. So we decided to take the plunge and turn it into two self-contained apartments – a four-bedroom and a two-bedroom - to cater to the growing local tourism market.”
“Our amazing builders, Moore Builders, had a boat builder on staff who recreated the missing arches with laminate wood.”
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