 Eventually, after hard negotiations the plan to sell and restore the theatre went ahead, due to the theatre's good aspects and proximity to the city's hot-spots.Owing to the increasing number of theatre-going public, the Opera House would not be able to support the demand, especially when the Wellington Festival of the Arts arrived.The council finally agreed to allow Chase to plan its tower in Willis Street in return for $7 million to refurbish the theatre; the other option that was not taken was for the government to raise $18 million to purchase and restore the building.