What once was a pile of an old building at 51 The Strand, now stands a new modern structure.

The previous building housed a range of businesses including William Lamberts Restaurants and Oyster Saloon in the 1880s, The Peoples Refreshment Rooms and Wayte's Fancy Foods Depot in the 1910s, and more recently Lone Star Restaurant and Bar.

Being earthquake prone, the building was demolished in 2017, with construction being completed in October 2018.

The $5 million project comprises of 3 commercial office levels, a ground level café, and a ground level wine bar.

The main tenants of the building are Financial Independence, TelferYoung and local restauranteur and caterers Hamish Carter and Catherine MacLoughlin. Financial Independence have taken the top level of the building and the building naming rights.

In December, Hamish Carter and Catherine MacLoughlin will be opening an exciting new café and a separate wine bar on the ground level.

Financial Independence have moved from the Chapel Street business and retail park, into the heart of the city centre.

'This has been a truly transformative move for our team, our business and our clients,” says Director Ben Ruthe.

'Being in a new office space of this quality, has been really exciting for our team who really love the new space, the outlook, the views and the working environment.”

'Being in the heart of the city has allowed some of the team to walk, take public transport, or with changing space and showers within our floor cycle into the city each day.”

'We are proud to have the Financial Independence House name on the building, which reflects where we see our business and brand heading. This is a unique building that has sustainability and quality design at its heart.”

'The environmental focus began at the demolition stage, with the recycling kauri floor, the wooden telegraph poles, and the original wooden roof trusses from the 100 year old building. The building has been built with New Zealand produced lightweight wooden structure spans, smart energy-efficient lighting and extensive use of floor-to-ceiling glazing to maximise natural light in the building.”

'Because of this we expect lower than industry standard operating expenses. As the largest building on the Strand, it has really added to the city scape of the CBD.”