The much-loved St James Theatre, running between Queen St and the central library, was bought by Steve Bielby in 2014. It needed renovations, refurbishments and earthquake restrengthening.

Renovations started, then stalled. Millions of dollars have been spent. $300 million is needed.

The Queen Street-facing theatres of the West End and Odeon are long gone.  A 30-storey tower housing 300 apartments and commercial spaces is due to go in their place. Ninety per cent of the apartments have been sold already.

When might the work continue? And how?

Read the full article in The Spinoff here.

Photo: Sonya Nagels