A bid to reopen part of Christchurch's central business district in time for Cup week in late October has hit a snag.
[image:3065:half:right]The plan for an area including Cashel Mall and Oxford Terrace is to house cafes and retail businesses inside existing buildings and in shipping containers where buildings have had to be demolished.
A major component of the initiative, called Project Re-Start, is the reopening of the line of bars, restaurants and nightclubs along Oxford Terrace, also known as the Strip.
The owner of the buildings, Antony Gough, has now been told they will need to be strengthened to bring them up to the new earthquake standards being demanded since the February quake.
Mr Gough says the cost of doing so makes it no longer viable to retain the buildings in their current form.
