Invercargill CBD mall resource consent application made public

Sunday, 21 October 2018

HWCP director Scott O'Donnell when outlining plans for the new Invercargill CBD development to Southland leaders.

Members of the public can now lodge submissions outlining their thoughts on a $200m proposal to demolish 30 buildings in the Invercargill CBD and build a massive mall on the site.

HWCP Management Limited's resource consent application to the invercargill City Council has been put up on the council website.

The redevelopment, as earlier highlighted, will include a range of food and dining outlets and outdoor dining spaces, a variety of retail outlets, boutique shops, a large anchor retailer, office space, apartments, a medical centre, civic facilities and a multi-level carpark.

The first stage of the application is to demolish the 30 buildings, including two category 2 heritage listed buildings at 33 Dee Street and 29 Esk Street.

The demolition of the entire block is expected to take up to two years.

Only three buildings will be retained; the Reading Cinemas building on Dee St, the former Bank of New South Wales building on the corner of Tay and Dee streets and the Kelvin Hotel on the corner of Esk and Kelvin streets.

The facade of the category 2 heritage listed Southland Times building would be altered under the proposal.

The second stage of the application is the multi-faceted redevelopment of the site.

Members of the public have until November 16 to lodge submissions to the city council on the application.

HWCP director Scott O'Donnell said the new target date for demolition to begin is March 2019, after the public submission hearings which he understands will be in February.

He wants the first tenants open for business in three years time, by Christmas 2021,and the entire project completed in 2023.

'In three to five year's time this town's going to be so materially different. It will be absolutely wonderful.'

Demolition of the buildings will generally start from the back and work forward, demolishing the front facades last.

Businesses on the north side of Esk St, which are not part of the redevelopment, would be impacted throughout the demolition of buildings on the south side of the street.

The street would be closed for periods of time to all traffic, goods deliveries would be restricted and pedestrians would be moved to the north side of Esk St for most of the works.

However, only the demolition of the run-down Government Life building, on the corner of Esk and Dee streets, was expected to cause the total closure of Esk St.

An asbestos survey would be completed on all the buildings before demolition and all asbestos would be removed before demolition.

There would possibly be contaminated areas throughout the site and these would be managed in accordance with standards.

The application says 90 per cent of the building stock currently in the block is just 10 - 25 per cent of national building standards.

The existing tenants in the block could not remain in occupation, as the buildings were at the end of their economic life, a report written by Trevor Thayer, of Professionals Real Estate and Geoff Thomson, Director of HWCP Management, says.

They believe the CBD redevelopment would have a rejuvenating effect on the wider CBD.

H&J Smith managing director Jason Smith says the new precinct will create a heart for Invercargill and give other retailers and businesses the confidence to invest, providing a positive flow-on effect for the city.