Restaurant to replace Clocktower building

JOSEPH JOHNSON

DEMOLISHED: The Clocktower in Hornby has been torn down to make way for a restaurant.

The landmark Clocktower building in Hornby is being replaced by a national restaurant chain.

The 1960s building was deemed uneconomic to repair after it was damaged in the December 2011 quakes, just a year after it was stripped back and refitted.

David Cresswell, director of building owner Epoch, said the company wanted to keep the building, but it was not financially viable to do so.

Demolition began three weeks ago and is expected to be completed by the end of next month.

Construction of a new single-storey building, which will house a national restaurant chain, will begin by the end of the year, Cresswell said. It was expected the new building would be finished by the middle of next year.

Cresswell would not say which restaurant chain was the new tenant. The name would be released in about a month, he said.

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Restaurant to replace Clocktower building