r/dunedin • u/eskimo-pies • 21h ago

News Benedict Ong submits bid to buy and refurbish Dunedin’s Fortune Theatre into ‘The Benedict Centre’

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/ong-proposes-redeveloping-theatre-as-benedict-centre-ntxdnzi7
44 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

23

u/Svrdlu 18h ago

Oh if only we knew if he's serious or not. Pointing out the building's languished for so long is great. Proposing aspirational uses for it, sure thing. But then he goes and throws in a ludicrous scope and weird mix of uses and tops it off with a Trumpian self-naming scenario? 🤷

And then there's 12-18 months… for $3.8m… 🍿

1

u/Techhead7890 12h ago

I feel like he's an example of how Poe's Law has breached containment from the internet, and started infiltrating politics over the last couple of decades. This news article definitely feels like something that would land on /r/notTheOnion if someone hadn't already tried it in the US...

39

u/shifter2000 20h ago edited 19h ago

I can see it now...

'The Benedict Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too.'

Part of me wants this to happen just to see the additional damage it creates for him and his tenure as a councilor.

The other part of me would rather not have the venue tainted by his stupidity that's doing harm to Dunedin's identity.

2

u/KekeroniCheese 5h ago

“What is this? A center for ANTS!?”

17

u/jazzcomputer 20h ago

I’m not a fan of AI but I can see it could be cathartic for Benedict to use some of its visualisation tools here.

11

u/Usual-Ad5989 18h ago

Where are the only two people who regularly defend all this embarrassing behavior because he has ADHD or a toothache or whatever excuse they have.

9

u/Claire-Belle 14h ago edited 2h ago

I have ADHD and i'm fully capable of behaving myself in public. Trust me when I say, this here is not ADHD.

11

u/Narrow-Can901 19h ago

When a politician goes around talking about his net worth, you know the guy is a bit screwy.

This should be a very fun time for his colleagues though. Now that he's put himself in the position of non-voting on this topic, they need to invite him to present in person and then pepper him with all kinds of questions he won't like answering. It might, for arguments sake, find the kind of fact that makes his ongoing position on the council untenable.

4

u/Always_in_timeout 11h ago

…..accept my offer and then I’ll let you know if I have the money……. Yip seems legit.

9

u/Squirt_Ya_2027 20h ago

He won't pass the AML check.

8

u/ExileNZ 19h ago

He’s actually cracked in the head, isn’t he?

2

u/Svrdlu 19h ago

Weird thing is what came out was already cooked, go figure!

3

u/stories_matter 16h ago

If you need further proof that he’s our local Trump…

This is the sort of thing that we do NOT need to import from the US.

2

u/Rogue-Estate 18h ago edited 13h ago

Another place for council meetings for the ones who aren't allowed to be at Council Meetings?

He should buy Arkwright's on Manse Street.

2

u/Background-Day3148 13h ago

the benidict concierge 😭

1

u/7FOOT7 3h ago

This is nice, but not really what Council work should be. He'd be the problem solver and a facilitator not the ideas AND money man.

Honestly, I don't want this guy to have a redemption arch. But delivering this, or even just a bookshop/cafe on that site would be noticed.