Lower Hutt’s Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired fire station to become apartments

PHOTO: NICHOLAS BOYACK/STUFF – Mike Friday is planning to restore the derelict station to its former glory.

A strip club or a regional arts centre were two of the more unusual suggestions for an historic fire station that is about to be turned into apartments.

The Lower Hutt Central Fire Station closed in 2007 and was sold to the Treaty Settlement Office for $1.3 million. In the intervening years, it had been subject to vandalism and extensive tagging.

Developer Mike Friday bought the abandoned station in November 2015 and worked closely with Heritage New Zealand on the design, which features 14 apartments.

READ MOE VIA STUFF