Some of you may not know what I am talking about in this article so here is some background and directions.
If you head South on State Highway One, about halfway between Ashburton and Oamaru you will see a sign that says “Welcome to Timaru”.
You carry on past McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken until you get to another set of lights at the bottom of a hill with a road on the right called Wai-iti Road. Go through the lights and take the first small one way street on the left. Drive up the hill and on the right hand side you will see an old run down building called The Hydro Grand Hotel.
Sorry you can’t get a beer there anymore because it’s all locked up. If you look out over the railway line between the Sound shell and the Piazza you should be able to visualise the new multi story Tourist Hotel there with views of the ocean and the mountains.
Now for the story.
The Timaru District Council
Those of you that were around in 1989 may remember a publication I published called Photo News. Great publication it even made it on to National Television. The advertisers even refused to pay for their adds and still haven’t paid.
It was a one off issue I captured peoples attention with this headline.
                  WHAT I WOULD DO FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND WITH $100,000,000
Turn New Zealand into a Tourist Paradise Starting in Timaru! Travel Overseas to Market what I Believe is The Best Scenic Country in The World
Build the biggest and best hotel in New Zealand on the Hydro Grand and Seaview Hotel Sites in Timaru.
I even started a public appeal and asked people to send their donations made payable to NZ Tourist Resorts c/ Timaru District Council.
10,000 copies into every home in Timaru plus coverage on National Television.
Have a guess how much money the council collected?
Sorry folks you will have to ask them that question. I gave all the money I collected to them and they won’t give it back.
That was in 1989. It is now 2003 and not a lot has changed since then, except that I’m a little older and wiser.
The Developers
The new owners of the old Hydro Grand Hotel in Timaru may not make many friends with the general public when they develop their nest on the Hydro Grand site but like all property developers they are in it to make money and you can’t blame them for that.
However if you are one of those South Cantaberians who would like to be a part of a publicly owned Tourist Hotel and Conference Centre on the old Hydro Grand Hotel Site in Timaru then I’m sorry but you could be disappointed.
I have spoken to three out of the eight investors in the Hydro Grand site and each one has indicated that they would prefer to fund the project by building up to 50 ownership units on the site.
Basically they are apartment units that are sold to the wealthy at an average price of approx. $500,000 each.
I have been told that there are at least 20 wealthy people in Timaru who are willing to buy a unit on this prime piece of real estate. It seems the developers would rather fund it from the purses of a few wealthy souls rather than from the smaller South Canterbury investors.
One part owner told me that he felt it would also a good idea to sell some units off to overseas investors. These wealthy foreigners could have a holiday home on the Hydro Grand site and be able to look down on us peasants on Caroline Bay. The Piazza is also included in the thinking of the developers. They have indicated that they would like to build out over the top of the Piazza.
Many people have said to me that the owners of the Hydro Grand are free to do what they like with their land and there is nothing that you and I can do about it.
That is partly true but if you believe passionately enough about an idea and others won’t co-operate with you then you just move on to plan B.
This is plan B
Find another building site. I’ve looked at a few good sites recently and I’m quite excited about the possibilities that this one has to offer.
Build a Pole Hotel
Build the Hotel on large concrete poles out over the Railway line stretching as far as you need to go overhanging the lawn on Caroline Bay. There is a perfect spot alongside the northern end of the Piazza going right back to the edge of the sound shell.
The ground floor of the Hotel would take up the current block of air space between the Piazza and the sound shell. There is no digging down required because the bank has created a natural wall. We could then use our Piazza as our entrance into the complex.
You don’t have to buy any buildings or land. All you would have to do is maybe pay some rent to the Railway people and Caroline Bay for the use of their air space and a bit of their land for some foundation poles.
The complex could be funded by local investment keeping the entry as small as possible to cater for all levels of income. We all know that if we own a part of something we appreciate it more.
The owners of the Hydro Grand could still carry on and build their apartment houses behind us and we could entertain our many tourist friends from the front row of our new Tourist Hotel and Conference Centre.
Now isn’t that exciting. Go down there and have a look for yourself. Put you imagination to work then come back and tell me what you think.
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Bye the way if anyone is interested in giving me a hand with this idea then I would welcome your call
Phone 03 688 4485.
I have a committee of one so far.
Ron Bishop
Professional Motivational Coach
www.motivationalspeakernz.com
P.S. Please note that I am a Professional Author and Coach and I have put many hours of work into this project.
      A courtesy call from you before reporting this material would very much appreciated.
