A landmark in North Dunedin, The Stafford Terrace at 62-86 Dundas Street, colloquially known as the Coronation Street flats, are being redeveloped. The process began in late 2015 – interiors have been stripped and the frontages cleaned up with the doors painted in bright colours. Their Facebook page tracks the renovation process of a third of the flats in the terrace.
What’s particularly interesting from my perspective is that the developer is inviting residents to name their flat and they supply a replica sign for them. The catch is it must reference a landmark from the TV programme, Coronation Street in order to “secure their place in history”.
Secure your own place in history now!
The Stafford Terraces have a Category 2 listing with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (3189). It is a significant building because it is representative of 19th century working class accommodation and investment housing. It was purpose built as a rental, and over 150 years later, it still is. The following are quotations from the NZHPT record:
“The first tenants were apparently from the lower middle class and the working class, there were painters, bootmakers, carpenters, butchers, bakers and a storeman.”
“In recent years the terraced houses have been landmark rental properties, well known to students, and an important element in the townscape of the North Dunedin student area.”
Acknowledgement: DCC Archives
The Stafford Terraces have been bestowed with a number of flat names over the years: The Shire, Chomp, The Brick Shit House, Battleship. The flat’s distinctive window frames were captured as a background image for a poster advertising the release of Husband House EP by Sneaky Feelings.
Did you or anyone you know live in these flats?
