Worcester Chambers, Heritage building in Christchurch Central City, New Zealand.
Worcester Chambers is a heritage building at 69 Worcester Street in Central Christchurch, designed by Cecil Wood in 1926 and registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category II historic place. It stands on the site once occupied by Digby's Commercial College, a secretarial school.
Cecil Wood designed Worcester Chambers in 1926 on the site of Digby's Commercial College, a secretarial school. The building is a Category II historic place registered by Heritage New Zealand. Earthquake strengthening carried out in 2007 let it withstand the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. In September 2015 the Gough family bought it for NZ$2.3m and renamed it Gough Chambers; unable to find tenants, they sold it in late 2016 for NZ$2.18m to lawyer Gerard McCoy and his wife Siu-Wai McCoy.
The building carries two names: Worcester Chambers from its Worcester Street address, and Gough Chambers, adopted in 2015 by the Gough family after buying it. The family dropped the rent to attract tenants but found none and sold in late 2016 to lawyer Gerard McCoy and his wife Siu-Wai McCoy.
The building underwent seismic reinforcement in 2007, which proved effective during the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. These upgrades made it a solid example of earthquake resilience in this active region.
The 2007 seismic strengthening let the building come through the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. In September 2015 Tracy Gough and two of his children, including city councillor Jamie Gough, bought it for NZ$2.3m and renamed it Gough Chambers; they cut the rent but found no tenants and sold it in late 2016 for NZ$2.18m to lawyer Gerard McCoy and his wife Siu-Wai McCoy.
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