Central city on full display after long rebuild

After the 15th anniversary of the 22 February earthquakes, we’re taking a look at different Council aspects of the rebuild, and how far we’ve come. Next up, the central city.

Tūranga: In 2011, the old Central Library was badly damaged and plans to repair it were dropped after the site was earmarked for the new convention centre, and it was demolished. A temporary library in Tuam Street provided library services in the central city until the site was needed for the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct.

Two temporary libraries in Peterborough and Manchester streets then served the central city until Tūranga opened on 12 October 2018. At nearly 10,000 square metres, Tūranga is the largest public library in the South Island and the flagship for the Christchurch City Libraries network, supporting 19 community, digital, and mobile libraries.

The inspiration for the design was derived mainly from the warm colours and rolling shadows of the Port Hills and the angular fronds of the native Harakeke flax that once grew in the city’s vast wetlands. The library now boasts computer suites, creative spaces, meeting and presentation spaces, entertainment spaces and relaxing spaces.

Hagley Oval: Cricket has a long association with the city, with the first recorded match at Hagley Park taking place in 1851.

Hagley Oval was redeveloped in 2014 and can now hold 20,000 spectators with the use of temporary seating. The Council’s contribution to the project was $4.25 million. The oval is Christchurch's premier cricket ground, hosting all grades of cricket, including World Cups, internationals and youth grade matches. The outfield is fully irrigated and covered in ryegrass, with a world-class drainage system to ensure water can move quickly away from the ground surface.

Margaret Mahy: A Christchurch Rebuild Anchor Project, Margaret Mahy Family Playground is the largest play project in New Zealand. The spectacular all-ages, all-abilities playground includes a four-metre-wide slide, water cannons and sprinklers, a climbing tower with spiral slide, tunnels, swings, wonderful landscaping, and much more.

Costing around $3 million, the 2.5 ha site incorporates large spaces and a wide array of play equipment. The design team combined inspiring and colourful elements, creating a 130 m ‘story arc’ pathway using elements from the stories of local children’s writers Margaret Mahy and Elsie Locke. Narratives and imagery from the Ngai Tahu also feature in the arc. The playground officially opened on 22 December, 2015.

Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre: At 32,000 square metres, Parakiore is New Zealand’s largest indoor sport and aquatics facility. It includes a 50m competition pool, dive pool, five hydroslides, a large aquatic leisure zone and a Sensory Aqua Centre designed for inclusive participation.

Elsewhere, there are nine indoor courts, including a three court Show Court with retractable grandstands for spectators, fitness and movement studios, and a High-Performance Sport New Zealand training base. 

The centre is named after the youngest son of Tūrākautahi, the Ngāi Tahu rangatira (chief) who built Kaiapoi Pā. The centre was officially opened on Wednesday 17 December 2025, at a cost of $500 million.

Mona Vale: This small but charming building, which uses finely crafted timber framing and glazing bars rather than steel framing, was closed to the public following the earthquakes. The restoration of the building is the final earthquake-related project in a series to be completed at Mona Vale.

Due to budget constraints the work was to be deferred to 2029, however the Friends of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens began a fundraising campaign to help with the cost of repairs, amid fears the building would suffer further deterioration.

The local Community Board was also instrumental in helping fund the restoration which included timber frame repairs, a new deck to cover the earthquake damaged bath/pool, and general strengthening works. The Bath House building will be used to house a semi-tropical collection of plants, and a public venue for small events. Wealthy heiress, Annie Townend bought the property – then known as Karewa – for 6000 pounds in 1905. She changed its name to Mona Vale, added another nine acres and built the two bridges and gatehouse.

Cuningham House: When opened in August 1924, the heated building housing a large range of exotic plants was described as “the finest building of its kind in Australia and New Zealand”. Cuningham House attracts visitors to view exotic plants in a similar way that visitors view works of art in a gallery.

Repairs were carried out to Cuningham House following damage caused by the earthquakes. Currently, the tropical conservatory is closed for heritage restoration, with a project budget of $10 million. During this time Townend House will showcase a selection of tropical flora instead of its usual flowering display. As the largest plant house in the Botanic Gardens, it has required ongoing maintenance and repairs since the 2010-2011 earthquakes. The house is undergoing significant repair and refurbishment – pointing towards a reopen date around Christmas 2026.

Court Theatre: The Court Theatre underwent a long, complex journey from temporary locations to a new, purpose-built facility in the city centre after the theatre was forced to move from Gloucester Street. By late 2011, a temporary venue in a former grain shed in Addington was home.

The Court Theatre is now part of the new Performing Arts Precinct on Gloucester Street in the Christchurch CBD. The new $61 million facility comprises two theatres, a front of house bar and café, and spaces for education, administration, and props and costume construction.

The theatre has become an anchor point of the Performing Arts Precinct, which also includes the Isaac Theatre Royal and The Piano. The Court Theatre opened to the public in May 2025.

Town Hall: The restored Christchurch Town Hall has become a premier performance and civic venue after reopening in 2019. In June 2015, Christchurch City Council votes to fully repair and restore the earthquake-damaged Town Hall at a cost of $152.2 million.

The purpose-built facility for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO), the CSO Centre, opened in August 2019. It gave the CSO a permanent home within the Town Hall complex for the first time. The CSO and Shapeshifter were the first to perform in the newly restored Town Hall's Douglas Lilburn Auditorium in March 2019.

Band rotunda: The Bandsmen's Memorial Rotunda is a well-known landmark in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. It was erected in 1926 to commemorate bandsmen who died during the First World War.

The military presence in New Zealand in the late 1800s lead to the establishment of brass bands. Those bands played at parades, sporting events and protests, becoming a popular form of public entertainment. Until the 1950s, brass bands would regularly play at the rotunda on Sunday afternoons.

The rotunda was significantly damaged during the earthquakes but has since been repaired and is once again open for use. The rotunda has been, and remains, a popular venue for a wide range of musical entertainment and is often used for functions such as weddings.

Te Kaha Project: Looking forward, the big development still to come in the central city is One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha. Prior to the earthquakes Lancaster Park was the home of Christchurch sport and music, but suffered significant damage across 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, forcing considerations of a new stadium.

In August 2021, the Council approved a ‘Canterbury Multi-Use Arena’ to house 30,000 seats, and 36,000 at full capacity in concert mode. Following overwhelming support to a consultation where the Council asked the public whether $150 million should be invested to progress to the design and construction phase, and the Council in turn approved the $683 million project to proceed in July 2022.

The stadium has taken four years to build and is nearly complete, with final touches – including the turf being laid in December 2025, and the roof completion in September 2025 – signalling the project being delivered on budget and on time in April. The stadium will hold its first event, the Super Rugby Super Round, on ANZAC weekend April 24-26.