Wellington icon The Roxy picks up Gold

Media release

Wellington icon The Roxy picks up Gold

The Roxy won a Gold Award at the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards held in Auckland on Saturday night (11 May 2013).

The Roxy, and Peter Camp Builders (PCB Ltd), were up against 10 other entrants in the hotly contested Tourism and Leisure section, and received one of five Gold Awards.

“The award is recognition of the decade of labour, and love, that has gone into making The Roxy the icon it is today. Peter Camp Builders has been with us through it all, and we are delighted its work has been honoured,” says Jamie Selkirk, co-owner of The Roxy, who oversaw the $6 million-plus rebuild.

Nestled in the heart of New Zealand’s movie making capital, Miramar, Wellington, The Roxy began life as The Capitol Theatre, which opened in 1928. Kerridge-Odeon took over the cinema in 1952 and ran the complex until 1964, when the cinema was closed and converted into a shopping mall, Capitol Court.

Camperdown Studios bought the site in 2003 with the intention of reopening it as a cinema. It wasn’t until 2007 that plans were drawn up.

“Peter Camp was right behind our vision. We had initially wanted to restore the building but during the planning stage it became obvious we would need to build a new complex to fit all the proposed businesses in,” says Jamie.

The old building was demolished in March 2010 and, in an unusual move, Peter Camp Builders constructed the new building from front to back, keeping the original façade of the Capitol Theatre intact.

In its new guise as The Roxy the complex now houses two cinemas, Coco at the Roxy restaurant and café, and a Grand Lobby featuring craft beers on tap. The complex has received accolades in media internationally for its authentic Art Deco design, and incredible sculptures and artworks that showcase Weta Workshop talent.

“While the overall design and interior decoration of The Roxy is in keeping with the era of the original Capitol Theatre, it is very much a modern building ‘behind the curtain’, so to speak. The Roxy has been built with robust materials that are proven to withstand sizable earthquakes (and cinema sound effects), and that will stand the test of time,” says Jamie.

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