Docklands doesn’t weather the storm

By Alison Kinkade

Though most residents escaped the deluge of the March 6 storm, not all property in Docklands was left unscathed with Southern Cross Station, Spencer St Shops, Etihad Stadium, some penthouses and Aqua Vista all reporting damage.

Suffering severe damage to all its skylights, the bill to repair Southern Cross Station’s ceiling is likely to cost between $2 -$5 million.

The station’s chief executive, Phillip Walker, said the skylights, which gave way due to the rain and hail, were his main concern.

“We have damage to the skylights and we’ll have to order in new ones from Europe and then it could take three months for them to be fully fitted,” Mr Walker said.

Other damage to the station included flooding to the escalators and lifts. However, Mr Walker said this damage was only minor.

Spencer St Shops also suffered water damage throughout the complex and staff and employees were evacuated during the storm.

“The safety of customers and centre employees is our priority at any time.  There was interruption to lighting and services, and the floors were very wet,” centre manager Lynden Courtney said.

Ms Courtney said the water damage meant that some plaster ceilings had to be replaced and some repairs were needed on the roof and gutters.

“Retailers and contractors worked very hard under extraordinary circumstances in the clean up process and to re-open the centre as quickly as possible.  It was an outstanding effort,” she said.

Etihad Stadium didn’t escape the damage either with the Livewire area being the most brutally hit.

Stadium communications manager Bill Lane said the build up of hail on the Livewire roof caused significant damage.

“The weight of the hail caused some of the roofing to give way and it subsequently led to significant damage in some other parts of the stadium,” Mr Lane said.

Mr Lane said the damage had not impacted upon the number of patrons attending events. But he apologised for the inconvenience that patrons may have experienced in the provision of food and beverages.

According to Mr Lane, it will take some months to rebuild the Livewire area.

“It is difficult to put a completion date on the refurbishment. We don’t want to promise something and then fall short,” he said.

It is unknown at this stage how much the damage bill for Etihad Stadium is likely to climb to, but it is expected to be in the millions of dollars.

“It is difficult to put a cost on the damage but our CEO recently told a 3AW audience, it would be to the tune of millions of dollars,” Mr Lane said.

The Aqua Vista building in NewQuay also suffered significant  damage with its  building manager Michael Neugent reporting that some floors of the building had been flooded.

“Carpet has been damaged in the Aqua Vista building and it still hasn’t been replaced, but the leaks have been fixed,” Mr Neugent said.

Mr Neugent, who also managers the Condor, said the Condor had experienced moderate damage to its commercial lots.

All Docklands building managers were contacted for this story.