I'm not sure I follow you: are you blaming the new sex shop on Rex Nicholls? That's not his building, as far as I'm aware. And besides, sex shops are hardly out of place in Cuba St!
As for the other changes in that block, and specifically in the redeveloped hotel/apartment complex, I'd agree that the new shops are marginally more upmarket than what was there before, but places like Madame Fancy Pants and Eyeball Kicks are hardly "sterile" or "plastic": they're run by local people with a passion for what they do, and that part of the street is just as characterful and interesting as ever.
I'd agree though that the top block is indeed sterile, and while some of the shops are starting to come back to life, the buildings that were moved won't be occupied for a year or more, so it will remain dead for a long long time. If Transit and their backers had been serious about retaining the important things about upper Te Aro, they'd have started the search for owners' descendants while the work was still in progress.
I'm not sure I follow you: are you blaming the new sex shop on Rex Nicholls? That's not his building, as far as I'm aware. And besides, sex shops are hardly out of place in Cuba St!
As for the other changes in that block, and specifically in the redeveloped hotel/apartment complex, I'd agree that the new shops are marginally more upmarket than what was there before, but places like Madame Fancy Pants and Eyeball Kicks are hardly "sterile" or "plastic": they're run by local people with a passion for what they do, and that part of the street is just as characterful and interesting as ever.
I'd agree though that the top block is indeed sterile, and while some of the shops are starting to come back to life, the buildings that were moved won't be occupied for a year or more, so it will remain dead for a long long time. If Transit and their backers had been serious about retaining the important things about upper Te Aro, they'd have started the search for owners' descendants while the work was still in progress.